Ghosts of Christmas Past
by OceanicShadows
Summary: After an assignment, the crew uncovers a holiday almost forgotten. Lots of fluff and family fun.
1. Chapter 1: Holidays of the Past

Ghosts of Christmas Past

 **** Alas…once again I have to remind myself that I do not own Star Wars Rebels. *Cry* I own my own imagination and creativity though! They can't take my thoughts away!**

 **I'm going to make mini chapters of this fic because time is of the essence right now with it being the holidays (I'm a pet sitter/ behaviorist and retail worker) ****

 **Chapter 1: Holidays of the Past**

The day had been a great success. The _Ghost_ crew had just finished an assignment and collected on their credits. They had managed to obtain a few extra crates of unknown content; the plan, to sort through and sell the extras on the black market for extra credits. Hera and Kanan climbed down into the cargo bay to already find Ezra looking into one.

"Hey Kid. I didn't say you could open them yet, I told you to wait for us. There could be dangerous items in there." Kanan's voice was serious and calm, but there was a slight hint of amusement due to the impatience of his young padawan. Ezra startled the lid quickly shutting.

"Sorry Kanan..I couldn't help it." The teenager grinned but Kanan felt something more. He felt sadness. He watched his student climb up onto the walk.

"I'm going to go take a shower. Having to sit in close proximity of Zeb for an hour doesn't make for a pleasant aftermath." Before his master could stop to question him, Ezra Bridger had disappeared down the hall.

"Wonder what's gotten into him." The Twi-lek murmured as she looked over the boxes, deciding which one to open first.

Kanan opened up the crate that his youngling student just had opened. He silently scanned over the items stopping on some red and green items with bits of white.

"I think I know." He reached in and pulled out a red triangular floppy hat with a large while ball of cotton at the tip, the crown encircled with white. Kanan hadn't seen anything like this in years, since before he left for the Jedi temple. It wasn't a holiday celebrated by many in the location they were in. It wasn't a holiday celebrated by many at all anymore. Typically, Christmas was viewed as a human holiday just like "Life Day" was a Wookie celebration.

"I've seen those before. It's a human holiday right? It pops up a little once a year. Never really did much research. Just took it as a weird holiday." Hera had walked over and was inspecting the crate.

"Why did it seem to upset Ezra?" The pilot may be indifferent in battle, but when relaxed she was a mother at heart. Hera enjoyed being able to care for Ezra like one of her own. It gave her joy and hope.

"My guess is it reminded the kid of his past. When his parents were still around." He placed the hat back.

"I don't think we'll get a lot for this crate but we can try to get something." The two sorted through the other crates, every now and then one or the other would make a comment about how they were left with the dirty work while the three "kids" ran off to play. Hera was planning a long list of chores. Little did they know, a certain Mandalorian teenager had watched the whole thing.


	2. Chapter 2: Remembrance

** So…apparently "mini" chapters don't last long with me….oh well. Enjoy! ** ~Ocean

Chapter 2: Remembrance

Ezra went to his room, relaxing when his discovered the lack presence with his roommate. He didn't want to deal with Zeb right now; he really didn't want to be around anyone. He grabbed a change of clothing heading to shower. He needed to be alone and the only time he could truly be alone was in the fresher. He felt like a skeleton had just been released and he needed to deal with his thoughts on his own without other voices in his ear.

* * *

Ezra was 6 years old the last time he experienced Christmas. Despite all the evils in the world, he was happy and relatively innocent. He lived with his parents on Lothal, played on the streets, went on trips to the market with his mom and played games with his dad. He was a pretty normal kid.

Every year, his parents brought out Christmas and set it out. No one else in the city celebrated Christmas, it was special to them. Ezra loved wearing the big red and white hat that engulfed him and left him half-blinded. He would parade around the house with it while helping to decorate.

His mom always said said it was a very old tradition that most had forgotten. The youngling didn't care. He loved spending the time with his parents. Each year he would get two presents. One from his mom, one from his dad; of course they were from both of them, but Ezra didn't really care. It was special to get something and he loved it.

Each year he would find something for his parents. Being young, usually it was something he picked up off the streets, or something that he made. Sometimes he would get the other parent in on his gift ploy. No matter how bad or insignificant, the boy's parents would always make a big to-do over it and cherish it.

This particular year, Ezra had been given a digital journal by his dad. His father and mother inscribed and recorded their voices giving him a "Merry Christmas" and life lessons speech. His parents wanted him to write about his experiences throughout his life.

His mother gave him a basket of rare candy from other planets.

Ezra had gotten his mom some perfume he had attempted to make. It smelled like flowers, but had a slightly fermented smell. His mother put it on and commented on the lovely smell with silently laughing coming from his father. For his father, Ezra had made him a trinket like device that he could play with while doing his broadcasts so he wouldn't get bored.

He forgot about the journal quickly after, not wanting to write all the time like his parents had hoped. Had he known it would be his last Christmas with them, he would have cherished it more. Ezra kept it after he moved to his tower, but had long since lost it and had forgotten about it, until now.

* * *

Ezra let out a small sniffle before realizing what happened, feeling a few tears falling down his cheeks.

" _If Zeb were to see me crying, I would never hear the end of his teasing_." He quickly wiped his eyes angrily and blew his nose. It was a stupid holiday anyway, something for kids to celebrate. He wasn't a kid anymore, even though that was his crew's pet name for him.

Kanan frowned as he looked down at his cup, he felt the sadness of the teen spike along with a slight bit of anger at himself. He didn't know what to do, he wanted to console his student and understand his past but he wasn't good at opening up. He had a past that he hid from everyone. He hated the feeling and never wanted his padawan to feel this kind of emotion. Ezra had been through enough.

"Go talk to him love." A gentle voice behind him drew him from his thoughts. He sighed.

"Have you ever tried to get the kid to open up?" He looked up from his coffee looking behind him at the pilot. "He's a clamshell with a pear hidden inside of it, the pearl being the information needed." The Jedi was a little frustrated. He knew Hera was right, but he also knew talking to the kid wasn't an easy task, especially if it brought up memories and wounds that were still open.

"Exactly. If you gently pry and he is willing, you will see something beautiful; this way causes no damage and no pain. Don't force him, but be there when he's ready to open up." Sometimes he hated when Hera was right. He wasn't good at opening up himself, how was he supposed to get his stubborn student to.

"Sometimes I swear you're a Jedi with how you talk. The kid is not going to want to talk to me." Kanan said neutrally finishing his coffee. The Jedi stood up and made his way down the hall. He stood at the fresher door for a few moments before knocking.

"Yeah?" Ezra voice cracked slightly making his master a little more worried about him. Ezra knew who it was. The teenager inwardly beat himself up for allowing his voice to waiver. He knew the tone and the cracking of his voice all too well, the kid had been crying. His student tried to hide any kind of negative emotion, but Kanan knew better, he was still a kid after all.

"When you're done, come to my room. I need to speak with you about something." His voice sounded harsh as it came out and he regretted it. He really wasn't good at this role. Why couldn't Hera talk to him again? After getting a hesitant confirmation, he left to his room to wait. While he did he meditated.

" _Great. I'm going to get lectured about going through the crates without waiting. I wish I had never opened that stupid crate!"_ He wanted to punch the wall; unfortunately for him, Kanan's room was right next door. He finished up, turned the water off, dried off and got dressed. He took his time and went as slow as possible not really in the mood for a lecture from his mentor.

" _When is Christmas again?"_ The boy slowly put his shoes on pondering this and going through the dates. _"If I'm right….in two days. Why am I even thinking about it? There is no more Christmas those days are gone!_ " He brushed away his remaining thoughts and continued.

Finally, when he couldn't find another way to stall for time, he headed to his master's room and stood at the door for a long time. The door opened on its own, Ezra hesitated before going in to the dark room. Turning around as the door shut behind him making him feel trapped.


	3. Chapter 3: Getting Rid of The Kid

**** This is for** **EmilyBridger: A Satyr is Greek mythology and is actually supposed to resemble a man with equine features. Later on with the influence of roman mythology, it started to take on goat like features. A Faun is half-goat, half-man and is from roman mythology** **Hope this helps! ** ~Ocean**

 **Chapter 3: Getting Rid of the Kid**

Sabine saw Ezra disappear into the Jedi's room as she peered around the corner from where she was. She walked down the hall and into the cockpit sitting down in the seat next to Hera. She had a mischievous look about her. Hera watched her for a moment dreading the answer to her next question.

"What did you do? And is it going to cause me a headache later?" The pilot knew the trouble her teenagers could cause and it usually ended up with the crew running for the lives, dodging bullets, or a migraine all of which involved a huge mess to clean up.

"Nothing….yet. Hey Hera?...Can you get rid of Ezra?" She smiled, in her hand she was fiddling with a small ball. It was red and very shiny. Attached was a hook of some kind. Hera recognized it from the crate it was some kind of ornament.

"Get rid of him?" Her eyes widened for a second before they calmed to their usual softness realizing there was a bigger plan. "What kind of plan do you hope to pull with him gone?"

"We pulling a prank on the kid? I'm in." The Lesat interrupted and sat across from Sabine, behind Hera. The Mandalorian filled them in on her plan.

* * *

Ezra sighed in defeat turning around to face his master.

"Look, I'm sorry that I didn't wait for you guys. The crate was already cracked and I figured a small look wouldn't hurt. I'll take the punishment now." The padawan stated with mild irritation. He wanted to avoid a long lecture, he figured the best thing to do would be to just get the apology over with so he could go back to what he was doing. Kanan picked up on the change in his attitude.

"Punishment? Who said anything about a punishment or being in trouble?" Kanan was taken back by the teen's unusual confession. Normal he got defensive and blamed Zeb or Chopper. Now he knew his student was bothered by his past. He saw his student someone zoning and not paying attention, he was a little frustrated at his lack of concentration.

"Look kid, I brought you here to talk to you about the contents of that crate, not to punish you." The Jedi looked up and into the eyes of his student who was now back to paying attention to the man in front of him.

"Wait…you mean I'm not in trouble? This isn't about disobeying your instructions to leave the crates alone?" Ezra looked surprised. He wasn't in trouble? He was immediately skeptical about Kanan's reasoning for summoning him before it dawned on him what Kanan was asking. He lost a little color. He didn't want to remember and he certainly didn't want to talk to the older man about it.

"The Christmas decorations in that crate caused a great deal sadness for you, I felt it through the force. I want to talk about it. " The older human tried to speak with a gentle tone like Hera had mastered. It was pretty good except that Kanan wasn't one to go around the subject. Maybe he was a little too blunt though.

"Well I don't. If I'm not in trouble can I go?" He didn't wait for an answer. Ezra was used to running from his memories. The Jedi saw so much of himself in Ezra it was uncanny. He opened the door and ran promptly into Hera who was fixing to open it.

"Sorry Hera! I was just going." He apologized quickly trying to scoot around her. The Twi-lek pilot blocked him.

"Actually, I need you two to run an errand for me. Sabine and Zeb are cleaning the ship and doing some other chores. That leaves you and Kanan to get the supplies for the next few days while we go dark for a little R and R time." She had a list of supplies they needed. She made sure it would keep them away for several hours if not overnight. Ezra didn't notice the exchange of looks between his master and the pilot of the Ghost.

"But I'd rather stay here. I can help and…and Zeb can go with Kanan." Ezra's voice leaked nervousness as he stumbled to find a solution that would keep him away from Kanan and the discussion they were about to have. He really didn't want to be alone with Kanan right now. He knew he had no hope of escape when Kanan's hand came down gently on his shoulder.

"We'll get the supplies. This will be a good time to work on Form Zero Ezra. No fights, no Imperials. Just supplies and peace…. Right?" Kanan's voice was almost overly cheerful, but he elongated and elaborated the word "Right" to make sure the kid understood he didn't want to have any problems.

He knew Hera was up to something, he didn't know what but he was going to help. He took the list and looked it over thoughtfully.

"Right…" The teen looked down unmoving. It's not like he ever purposely caused problems.

"This is a long list Hera...looks like the run is going to be an overnight trip, pack accordingly and meet me at the _Phantom_ in an hour." Kanan's tone was finalized as he looked down at his student, releasing his grip of Ezra's shoulder and pocketing the list.

"Fine." Ezra's tone of voice was unamused and frustrated at this point. He pulled away from the two and left, disappearing into his own cabin. He didn't see Hera filling in Kanan on what was happening a few moments later


	4. Chapter 4: Memories

**** So I feel that I should give warning that everyone may become a little out of character. Not too sure and it wouldn't be by much. I prefer to stick to in character. I apologize ahead of time. Lots of family fluff in this chapter between a certain Jedi and his padawan :) Enjoy ** ~Ocean**

 **Chapter 4: Memories**

Ezra looked out the window of the _Phantom_ as Kanan took off. This was going to be a long trip. They were going several hours away, staying the night and returning the next day. 24 hours that the young padawan would have to open up to his master…so why wasn't Kanan questioning him?

Kanan glanced over to Ezra, he had decided to change tactics. First he would give a mild silent treatment, then he would be the one to open up first. It was Hera's idea and he wasn't fond of it because it meant he had to be open as well.

" _I guess Hera's right that I need to be an example and open up first. Ezra and I have that in common. We don't like to talk about the past. A master is supposed to be a role model; I guess I signed up for the task."_ He silently mused to himself for the first hour or so of the trip before he finally spoke up.

"Before I left to go to the temple. I celebrated Christmas once. I never knew my parents, but my caretaker thought it would be fun. I never understood the purpose of it. You decorate, give out gifts, and then you take everything down. It seemed like a waste of time to me." Kanan's voice was his normal, calm tone. It always put Ezra at peace listening to his master speak.

"That's not the point of Christmas…." The teen stated with a gruff, annoyed tone. Kanan inwardly smiled, he broke the ice, maybe now his student would talk about what was bothering him. His student sighed and continued explaining.

"Christmas is…or rather was a celebration for families to spend together. There was a reason and a story behind it all…but I don't remember it. I don't think anyone does anymore." As he spoke, Ezra looked down trying to keep a flood of emotions from bubbling up.

"My parents and I would always decorate our house together. We made cookies and wrapped presents. Everyone got something no matter how small or useless an item was. I painted a rock one year and gave it to my dad. It was just a time that my parents dedicated solely to me…and not broadcasting. It was nice…" Kanan looked over at the wavering voice of his student. Ezra had buried his face in his knees and had gone silent.

"You really miss them don't you?" Kanan had found his paternal voice. He had been alone his whole life; he didn't want Ezra to be. He received a very slight nod out of the youth. He thought about how to go about the delicate subject. The words seemed to naturally come to him.

"I didn't have much of a family life. In fact, even in the temple as an initiate I was teased because of my age. I was about your age when I was given the initiate trials, that was really young. They always caused me 'kid' and I _hated_ it." Ezra glanced over slightly at that knowing now why he was given the nickname.

"I was always getting into trouble and questioning things. Master Billaba took me in and nurtured that side of me. I was really surprised and happy when she offered to be my master." Ezra could see that his master was falling into his memories. He had never heard Kanan open up this much before. It was scary, but soothing. He knew it was painful for Kanan to think about that part of his life. They lived two different lives, but they had similar experiences.

"The few moments we were able to rest during the wars, she would allow me to ask questions during training and she would always answer them to the best of her ability. The holocrux that I gave you? I think I can say that was the first and perhaps the only real gift anyone had ever given me. She handed it to me so that I could find my answers." The Jedi stopped, he felt very vulnerable having given out this much personal information. He also felt tricked because he knew this was all a ploy of Hera's. He was brought back to reality when his padawan spoke up.

"Did you get your answers? It seems like such a meaningless gift. A box to only answer questions…but in riddles I would assume…like anything else." Ezra was quiet. He was remembering the journal. He had never even used it because it seemed like a joke; now he wish he knew where it was. He would record everything and never lose sight of it. He felt little pricks in his eyes, he took a deep breath to concentrate and keep his emotions blocked from Kanan.

"I would say yes. It led me to you. You have helped me answer a lot of my questions Ezra. You have replaced my self-doubt with confidence. "The older man smiled as he spoke. He was proud of Ezra, no matter the trouble he seemed to everyone in to.

"You're a lot like me when I was in the temple. Always getting into trouble, asking a lot of questions that I don't know the answer to, so I have to find one on the fly." This conversation was going well. He thought he had finally got the kid to open up when Ezra stood and left quickly to the back sitting on the bench curling back up into himself.

Kanan hesitated before he sighed and set the small ship to auto-pilot. He got up and slowly made his way to the teenager. He felt all his sadness, confusion, and pain. He didn't know exactly what to do, but he was determined to find something out. He sat next to Ezra and put a gently hand on his shoulder. What happened next surprised the Jedi to no end.

He felt a small quake from Ezra. At first, Kanan thought it was Ezra trying to shrug him off and he retracted his hand slightly. Then he noticed it happened a few more times. Ezra was crying. Instincts took over and Kanan did what any "father" would do and encircled his arms around Ezra in a tight but loving hug.

Ezra was mad at himself for crying in front of Kanan. He was trying to hide it but he knew that Kanan wasn't dumb. He also felt the Jedi retract his hand.

" _He's going to think I'm a baby, and too immature to be a Jedi now.."_ He was very bitter towards himself. The bitterness melted into confusion when he felt his master give him a hug. He did the only thing he could think of. He turned and buried his face in Kanan's chest and started crying harder. Kanan waited several minutes, just consoling his student before he spoke up.

"It's okay to be sad and cry Ezra. Me and Hera will always be there for you. So are your parents." He figured he could turn this into a lesson. It would give ease of mind to his student.

"My parents?...but they're…" The teen sniffled and remained close to his master feeling safe and secure.

"If they're alive, we'll get them back. If they're dead…well, in the ways of the force, there is no death. They become part of you. They will always be inside you Ezra." Ezra found great comfort in these words, he had no clue why, he just did. He stayed against Kanan for a while, calming down, his mind going to a peaceful state.

"Thank you Kanan. Thank you for always being around when I need you." His words were very quiet but sincere as he spoke them.

"Just…promise me you won't tell anyone about this?" He was scared of his roommate finding out, or worse, Sabine and the never ending torture that would ensue.

"Whatever was said today will stay between you and I and no one else until we're ready to let them know. And Ezra…If you ever need to talk, I'm always here to listen. Okay?" His reply was a nod from his student. He was fixing to say something else when the computer beeped.

"We should be landing soon." Ezra sat up allowing his mentor to get up to take over the controls again as he wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He remained in the back for a while before joining him to watch their descent. He wasn't ready to tell Kanan everything, but he was glad that when he was, his master would be there for him.


	5. Chapter 5: Deck the Halls

****Sorry about all the typos guys :( . I'm running low on energy reserves and that means my dyslexia and rest of my brain aren't functioning well. My runs for pet sitting start at about 4am, I work at the store and then start back up when I get off. I end close to midnight each night with little sleep allowed. I'm going back through and trying to fix them. You can always PM sections if you catch one, I won't mind in the least as long as your nice about it! Thanks!** **** ~Ocean**

 **Chapter 5: Deck the Halls**

The moment the remaining crew members couldn't see the _Phantom_ they set to work. Sabine pulled up records and history about this "Christmas" holiday that was part of the ancient culture of their human friends. She took charge of the whole thing, giving orders, making decisions and fine tuning everything. She wanted Ezra to have good memories to replace possible bad ones. Hera was very surprised by how good of a leader the teenager was turning into.

Zeb actually looked like he was having fun as well, though he tried hiding it and groaned about all the work; however, both the females on the ship caught a small smile on his face every now and then. He was even wearing a "Santa hat", as Sabine had discovered that it was called. It made the tall, ominous looking Lesat fairly cute and non-intimidating.

The Mandalorian looked over her checklist going over a few things with Hera, making sure they were going to have things complete before the boys returned.

"It says traditionally there is a big tree that is decorated with tinsel, and ornaments. Underneath is where all the presents are put. I didn't see anything that looked like a tree in the crate, but we have the ornaments and lights that go on it." She stated as she pointed to the description on her holo.

"I don't think we're going to find a tree that looks like that anymore and we don't have time to look…but I trust that you will find something just the same." The older woman smiled at the teenager. She was glad that Sabine was branching out like this for the teenager she didn't seem to care much for. She just hoped that Ezra wouldn't get mad, the boy didn't seem like he wanted to celebrate anything related to this holiday just a few hours earlier.

"I'll think of something for sure. Now, what else was in that box." She stated with determination as she headed for the crate. She dug around looking at all the contents of the box, her mind exploding with never ending ideas to make this pretty much extinct holiday a reality.

Chopper beeped in excitement, rolling through the bay heading towards Sabine. Zeb, who had his arms filled with shiny tinsel managed to step right in his direct pathway received a painful shock, followed by Choppers own way of mockery.

"Ow! Why you stupid rusty bucket of bolts!" The guard growled as the tinsel flew up in the air, he managed to catch most of it but the rest landed gracefully on him. Hera started to laugh at the sight of the decorated crew member.

"Zeb, I guess you can always be the tree." The pilot managed to snag a quick holo of the once feared honor guard, before continuing on with her work. If anything, maybe this would cheer up Ezra.

Sabine looked up and over at all the commotion. She heard Hera's comment about a tree and looked at Zeb with a small grin before she felt Chopper bumping into her trying to get her attention with annoyed sounds.

"What is it Chop?" The droid rammed into her again, in one of his arms was a very old looking journal. She took the journal and looked it over activating it seeing a picture of Ezra's two parents close to one another in a side-by-side hug. They were speaking, but there was no sound. With the age, chances are the sound card had busted long ago.

"Chopper, where did you get this?" She asked accusingly; she had never seen this with Ezra's stuff before and he didn't come onto the ship with much. She was answered by a series of beeps and noises that sounded like feigned innocence.

"What do you mean you found it?" By now, Hera had come over to investigate. She came in on the part with Chopper telling Sabine that he found "it" in Ezra's tower and had kept it for blackmail purposes later on. Hera looked at the journal in Sabine's hand.

The Journal was dusty and had some chips and cracks in it. It looked very worn, but had not used at all. The screen said "no entries". When it was checked.

"How could it not be used?" Hera calmly asked to no one in particular. She took it from Sabine and flipped through seeing the inscription that had been written for Ezra, before turning it off. It was not something she felt comfortable reading without the teen's consent.

"I don't know how you got this Chopper, but this needs to go back to Ezra. Taking this from him was wrong." Chopper protested valiantly, insisting that he found it under a bunch of trash at the tower but he fell on deaf ears. She went to take it to the boy's room but she was stopped.

"The archive file said that you give presents to people. Couldn't we just use that? It's not new, but what is these days? I think the kid will like it. I don't think he even remembers it if Chopper did find it where he said he did." Hera had continued to walk down the hall with Sabine following closely; stopping short of Ezra's room. She looked down slightly, pondering over what the girl had just said. Hera sighed in defeat heading it back over to the girl.

"Okay, but Sabine, are you sure Ezra will like all of this? He seemed upset after discovering that crate. I don't want a fight to break out, and I don't want him to run off because he is mad. It's too dangerous." The Twi-lek's voice was riddled with motherly concern. She liked this whole idea at first, but all of this was planned with the succession of Kanan's "mission" with the kid.

"He'll love it, as long as Kanan doesn't mess up our plans and upset the kid further. Besides, if not, we can always blame Chopper." Hera shook her head and smiled as she followed Sabine back to the bay to finish decorating. They walked into Chopper showing something to Zeb who was snickering and agreeing to something. He looked up to the two females and Chopper deleted what they were looking at.

"Boys?" Hera crossed her arms and cocked her eyebrow at them in question. When Chopper and the Lesat guard joined forces, there was definitely trouble brewing. Chopper denied everything flying past all of them with the excuse of having to run diagnostics. She made a quick mental note to stay a distance from everyone when their leader and his student came back.

"We were just looking at some of the trees from the article. Apparently there was this big fat guy too that ate lots of cookies at all the hundreds of houses he visited. Do we get cookies and are we going to have to visit every single house? That last part sounds a bit annoying and tiresome." Zeb grinned at the thought of eating a lot of treats, but even more so because he was going to get back at all the pranks Ezra had inflicted on him.

"Sure, that will be last though after the boys get back with the supplies to make them." Sabine looked at her list thoughtfully. She was going to make this fun for everyone on the ship even if they couldn't do everything this "Christmas" thing was about.


	6. Chapter 6: Splitting-Up

**Ghosts of Christmas Past**

 **Chapter 6: Splitting-up**

After the phantom was docked in one of the bays, Kanan and Ezra headed out into the town, going towards the market. The Jedi almost had them leave their lightsabers, but thought better of it because of all the bucket heads patrolling the area. He didn't like the number of them walking the streets or standing guard. Hera had told him that security was low in this city; that being the reason it was chosen. He still advised his student to blend in and not make trouble.

"Don't be quick to pull out your weapons, or get in a fight kid. They won't recognize us in this city as long as we lay low… _I hope_ " He added silently to himself. He had felt uneasy since landing, but didn't let his student know.

"Do you understand Ezra? Are you even listening to me? Hey Kid!" The older man asked with exasperation. The kid was too much like him when he was young.

"Right." Ezra was already somewhat distracted as the ramp opened and he left before Kanan could stop him to warn him.

The younger of the two shivered as a cold gust hit him. He watched as his breath clung to the air with a white fog. Ezra had stepped out and hadn't been told how cold the planet was. He felt a heavy piece of material drop on him. He looked up at his master with frustration at having not been told this useful piece of information.

"Oh, and it's a bit cold kid. This is the same planetary system as Hoth. You might want to wear this." The man teased lightly with sarcasm at his student's impatience as he fastened his own cloak watching the teenager do the same. Kanan was fairly resilient to the cold temperatures having traveled a lot as a freighter and con-artist himself in his younger years but he knew better than to walk around without some kind of protection against the cold.

"Let's get a room secure before it gets dark." He placed his hand on Ezra's shoulder, he felt the boy shivering slightly. A nod was all he received as they headed out. He watched his student draw his cloak tighter to his body and half pitied the kid. Ezra wasn't used to the cold, he doubted if he had ever really seen snow. The Jedi kept up his guard as they walked around knowing that no matter where they went, the two of them wouldn't be safe as long as the Empire was still under control.

Ezra looked around, unconsciously hanging closer to his master who seemed to radiate heat through his cloak. Either that or Kanan was using a Jedi trick of some kind. If it was a trick, he would be pretty mad that Kanan didn't share with him how to do it.

Ezra wrapped around and got lost his thoughts as he followed Kanan through town. The words of his friend clung to him. Had Kanan really only received one gift his whole life? Ezra had never gotten a lot, but still, just one? He would have to change that.

The young teenager didn't see his mentor stop and tell him to "wait here", and he kept walking; only stopping after running right into a storm trooper.

"Hey! Kid watch where you're going!" The storm trooper growled looking down at the kid.

Ezra almost retorted back with his normal sarcastic comebacks, but those thoughts quickly left his mind remembering what Kanan had told him, and he feigned innocence.

"Sorry sir. This is my first time in the city and around snow. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I didn't mean to be a disruption to your patrol. You guys are so awesome with all the hard work you do to keep us safe!" The youth managed to raise the tone of his voice a little to make him seem a little younger. He even gave a false look of awe which seemed to please the storm trooper who waved him away.

"Thanks kid. Just be more careful next time. Some of the citizens here can get really grouchy. Go on now, your parents are probably worried." The voice inside the helmet went much softer. He continued on with his path. His parents?…he didn't even know where his parents were, or if they were still alive. A small pain of sadness threatened to crush his chest. Ezra quickly looked around for Kanan. His master was nowhere in sight.

"There you are kid!" Kanan came up from behind him and grasped his shoulder. His voice sounded annoyed, but Ezra heard the small hint of worry in his voice.

"I told you to stay put and when I turned around you had vanished." He had felt the pain, and thought something had happened.

"I ran into a bucket head. He waved me on thinking nothing of me." Ezra said casually, he looked up at the older human. Kanan didn't look too amused, maybe because he had almost had a heart attack thinking that the kid had gotten into trouble, _again_.

"Be more careful next time. And pay attention to your surroundings, don't let your guard down." Kanan lectured watching Ezra shiver again.

"I found a room. We'll get settled, warmed up and decide where to go from there." His voice went back to "mission mode Kanan", as he steered the youth into a building and up a few flights of stairs getting to their room.

"I was paying attention…I just got a little distracted." Ezra whined slightly as he huffed up the stairs.

"Well don't get distracted. It's not safe." He could feel Ezra rolling his eyes as he reached the door and opened it letting them in.

Inside, the room was tiny. There was a bunk, a bathroom, and a small table with chairs. It was run down, but warm. For good measure, Kanan walked over and adjusted the heat up a little so his student wouldn't catch a cold from the foreign temperature. He looked out the window at the city below. There was something he didn't like about the area, but he couldn't put his finger on it. They would just need to be cautious.

"So what's the plan?" His student drew his attention back, he looked over before turning to face the boy.

"We can either work on getting the supplies, eat and then go to sleep and leave early in the morning. Or we can go find some grub, look around and get the supplies in the morning." He was giving Ezra a choice to decide. He figured as long as there was no imminent danger, he would let the kid partake in their supply run decisions. He looked over, Ezra had the list and was looking it over.

"How did you get that? It was in my pocket!" He said incredulously grabbing for the list only to be easily dodged. He had almost forgotten that Ezra had lived the last several years as a con-artist before the _Ghost_ crew found him, or rather when he almost messed up their mission and stole his lightsaber and holocrux.

"Alone, on Lothal, remember?... Had to survive somehow." Mild agitation hung to his words as he continued to skim the list. He couldn't think of a way to lose his over-protective master so that he could get something for him. Then an idea struck him.

"Could we…you know…split up? You take half and I take half? We would get done a lot faster. I've already avoided the bucket heads once. Faking an innocent kid seemed to charm them enough. I promise I won't cause any problems." Ezra pleaded in a normal tone of voice. He wasn't going to tell Kanan that he wanted to split up to get him a gift, but he really didn't want Kanan around when he picked it out.

The Jedi looked at him; it wasn't that Ezra went looking for trouble, trouble normally found him. But the kid was right, they could get done faster and get off the ice planet and back up into space. He mused over this for several minutes.

"So?" His student was very impatient, just like himself. He smiled slightly and nodded.

"Sure, I don't see why not. Just please be careful. If we had to call Hera for a pick up, we would never hear the end of it." He stated with a warning tone. ' _more like, Hera would kill me.'_

The two split the list and headed downstairs before separating, agreeing to meet up in an hour to check in and get some food. Kanan watched Ezra disappear into the crowd with fatherly concern. He didn't like when Ezra went out solo, which is why when he put his hand on his shoulder earlier, he had placed a tracker on his student. He couldn't shake the feeling of animosity he was getting in the force. He turned and went in the other direction; the sooner they got the supplies, the sooner they could leave.


	7. Chapter 7: A Perfect Gift

**** Hey guys! I'm updating now, because I don't know if I will be able to tomorrow. I don't mean to update and post so often, I guess I just get too excited :) I'm not going to do POV, but just what is going on with Ezra and then what is going on with Kanan. Enjoy!** ~Ocean**

 **Chapter 7: A Perfect Gift**

 **(Ezra's View)**

Ezra pulled his cloak tighter to him. He was really starting to miss his home planet, the weather there was at least livable. He saw some citizens walking around wearing bare minimum clothing and felt a pang of jealously. Occasionally, when he had an opportunity, he would duck into an indoor bazaar to warm up before heading back out. It had begun to snow lightly as he trudged through and felt his cloak getting damp. He grumbled as he started his search for the items on his list.

Finding his supplies was actually relatively simple, most of them he found under one vendor. There was very little that wasn't considered a food item.

" _Is Hera going on some kind of cooking spree or something?_ " He thought to himself, his mouth watering a little at the idea of real food in front of him instead of rations or a protein bar. He loved when Hera or one of the others took time to cook a meal. He had decided by this point to get everyone a gift. He had plenty of credits saved up.

" _Just a few months ago, I would have never spent my credits on anyone else."_ The young Jedi smiled, he loved feeling like he was part of a family again. He missed his parents, but the crew filled the huge void in his heart.

He paid for the last item on his list placing it gently on top of everything else in his back pack. He checked to make sure everything was there, and nothing was missing. He had gotten Hera a set of tools to help with repairs and maintenance. He knew she didn't have this particular, and each time they did a repair he had heard the comments from the Twi-lek about how it would be easier if she could find them.

They were by far the most expensive gift and took more than half his credits, but Hera was worth it. She had taken over the role of his mother, she was always there to comfort any of the crew members. She kept a level head, and put up with his wild teenage antics.

He wasn't quite sure Zeb would appreciate his gift. He had wandered a little into the shadier part of the bazaar and found a stand with some less seen items. There, the padawan had found a really cheap toy. It was an action figure doll of a Lesat honor guard that looked remarkably like Zeb. He would never admit it, but he looked up to Zeb and admired his bravery, even if they fought a lot. Because of the cheapness, he also got Zeb a bar of soap as a joke.

He even felt in a good enough mood that his found something for Chopper. He bought a droid polishing kit. Chopper was either going to love or hate it, but he thought that if he cleaned up the angry droid, Zeb couldn't call him rusty anymore.

The last thing in the bag, not on the list, was a gift for Sabine. Ezra found her gift first just by looking around. It was a small wooden box that unhinged and opened up revealing a very old art set. It was very cool with plenty of bright colors and he hoped that the Mandalorian found use in the set that had most likely collected dust since it was manufactured. He still had a boyish crush on the other teenager, but he was starting to view her as a sister. She was someone to unite with to rile up the adults.

He smiled, cinched up his bag and closed it ready to head back when it hit him. Kanan, he had forgotten to get a gift for Kanan. He looked at his watch.

" _Karabast! I have to get back. Maybe I can sneak out later and look at some of the booths that stay open late."_ He quickly headed back so he wouldn't be late for his check-in. He could only imagine the lecture he would get for being late. As he walked through the closing booths, he glanced at the booths to make sure something didn't stand out that would be a quick pick up. Nothing did, Kanan needed something heartfelt and special. This was going to be hard.

About a block from the food place they were meeting, Ezra stumbled across an older man with a mobile cart. Well, actually, he almost ran into him.

"I'm sorry sir." The teen apologized as he picked up an item the old man had dropped. He felt something strange when he looked at him; he felt warm, and at ease.

"That's okay son. No harm done." His voice was gruff but kind. He looked at Ezra with blue eyes and a gentle smile.

"You look like you're looking for something. Maybe I can help you." He spoke slow, which made the youth a little impatient but he kept it inward. Kanan's words to stay out of trouble played through his mind as he listened to the older humanoid. He looked human, but Ezra wasn't sure because most of him was covered in a cloak.

"Yeah, actually I'm looking for a gift for my…dad." He fumbled on what to call Kanan besides, 'master'.

"He doesn't get many gifts, so I wanted to make sure to get him something special." Ezra continued. He couldn't help the calm feeling he got around the gentleman and he relaxed, forgetting temporary that he was late to meet up with his master.

"I see; I think I may have the perfect thing. Let's see if I can find it." The old man smiled as he started to dig through his cart. Ezra watched him, he had a slight limp as he shuffled around his cart. He looked stiff, most likely from the cold.

"I swear, I'm going to move to a dessert planet as soon as I can. The cold just doesn't do good for these old bones….Ah, here it is." He shuffled back holding a small box out to Ezra, who took it carefully.

"This is what you're looking for my young friend. It serves to help us older people about how the galaxy was when it was peaceful. It's older than I am; I'm sure your dad will love it." He smiled softly.

"Tell your dad that I said 'hi' and happy…whatever you're celebrating." Ezra assumed that the old man was just being super friendly before giving him an astronomical price for the tiny contents of the box. He was used to adults instructing him to "say hi" to someone.

Ezra opened the box, inside was a small pendant that looked extremely old. He had never seen it before in his life, but yet he had. It brought him peace looking at the brilliant green stone set among the tarnished silver metal.

"I'll take it, but how much….?" Ezra tapered off as he looked up, looking around. The man and his cart were nowhere in sight. He looked back down at the pendant to make sure he hadn't imagined it but there it was. He shut the box and pocketed it before he continued his way, the old man still on his mind. It creeped him out a little.

" _Kanan is going to kill me for being late"_ Ezra quickened his pace barely making it.


	8. Chapter 8: Gone in a Flash

****...*thud*so...tired...*dies from sleep deprivation and having to adult all day*...Good night everyone, hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope it's not too scattered and rambly, read over it about 8 times and it seemed to make sense to me :D ** ~Ocean**

 **Chapter 8: Gone in a Flash**

Kanan walked the streets of the market with feigned casualty. He was on guard, expecting anything but trusted in the force to let him know if something was about to happen.

Everything was close to closing up and it was a perfect time to barter for a good deal. The pilot of the _Ghost_ would appreciate them more if they returned with unused credits. The green-eyed man looked down at his list and studied it for the hundredth time that day; Medical supply refills, small spare parts for the ships, and some food items. The male adult had given the teenager most of the food items; mainly the easy to find ones that would get him back to a "safe zone" quickly. He didn't know of Ezra's plan to also purchase gifts.

The Jedi kept his mind split between tasks. Most of it was focused on getting the items needed, but a part remained focused on the force signature of his student. Currently, he could feel that Ezra was calm and relaxed, actually, the kid felt pretty happy.

" _Maybe it was our talk on our way here."_ The man smiled slightly at the thought of his student being so open with him.

From experience however, the Jedi knew that happiness and calm could change in a split second, hence the tracker on the kid. He didn't trust trouble or complication to stay away from the boy.

" _Ezra's list should take no more than half an hour. He should be back before I'm even finished….as long as there is no divergence in the plan. Why did I agree to split-up again?_ " Kanan thought to himself, shaking his head as he searched the vendors.

The human spent the greater part of his time locating, bartering and paying for the supplies. Most of it fit inside of a satchel he had brought with him, a few items he had to carry in his hands. After finishing Kanan began to head back. He decided to drop his items off at the _Phantom_ before going to wait, or hopefully meet, his padawan at the meeting place.

Kanan shut the ramp to the small ship. Something was off. He could feel a strong force signature, but it was almost fully masked. For some reason, he couldn't tell if it was dark or light, he just felt the power radiating through the force. He shut his eyes to concentrate on it, see if he could find a motive.

Kanan growled in frustration as he was blocked out by who or whatever the powerful source was. He continued to try and locate it.

The Jedi's eyes snapped open when he finally found it again. The signature was slowly heading for Ezra.

Kanan started to rush in the direction his student was. There was still a large enough crowd that he found this a difficult feat. The taller male excused himself and pushed through the crowd of people trying to make his way through the marketplace without drawing too much attention to himself.

" _How did Ezra manage to get across the city? The kid should have only stayed in the sector we began in_." Kanan's thoughts raced through his mind. The two signatures were soon mixed, meaning both Ezra and the other force user were together. He didn't feel any fear or negative disturbances. In fact, the Jedi felt no disturbance at all.

" _Karabast! If something happens to the kid…."_ Kanan rounded the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. The only signature he could sense now was his student's. The unknown presence was gone, just like that. He probed around for a second, no harm seemed to have befallen Ezra. It was only then he saw his student heading in his direction, in a hurry.

Before Kanan had a chance to stop him, Ezra ran smack into him. Ezra was getting really good at running into people.

"Kid, are you okay?" His master was looking him over, his voice sounded concerned, his eyes matched it.

"What do you mean? You look like you just ran into a mob of inquisitors Kanan." Ezra straightened himself as he watched his mentor assess him.

"Did anyone come up to you? I felt something near you. Why are you this far away from the ship?" He wasn't convinced that Ezra was okay, the last signature he had felt with that much power was the inquisitor, there was just no coldness.

The youth fumbled in his brain. He didn't want Kanan to know about the gifts or why he was this far out to begin with. Everything was supposed to be a surprise. The youth didn't want to lie to his master, but it was with good intentions. At this point, his mind wasn't on the mysterious man he had just run into and what Kanan had just said; his mind was on staying out of trouble. He turned to his protection mechanism of sarcasm to help.

"There are lots of people near _both_ of us Kanan. I wanted to see if I could find a certain fruit that our beloved pilot is fond of." He grinned as he allowed the sarcasm "dumb" him down.

"I didn't find it, then I saw the time and figured I needed to get back. I didn't realize I had walked across town." Ezra just knew he would be lectured anyway for being late.

"So you didn't see anyone out of the ordinary? You didn't _feel_ anything?" The older human cocked an eyebrow at his student in question. He crossed his arms under his cloak. Ezra was confused, why wasn't Kanan getting onto him about not paying attention, or not focusing.

"No, but maybe the cold has gotten to your head, can we go where it's warm and get some food now? I'm starving." The teenager had hidden many a thing from the Jedi; he didn't necessarily like it, but he disliked extra chores more. He grinned again to convince his master of his story; his shivering body alone was fairly convining.

All Ezra got from Kanan was a nod. The oldest of the two looked around once more before he turned and the two walked back to the original meeting place.

By the time they returned it was dark and the diner was closing up. The duo managed to get some food to-go, heading up to the hotel room to eat and warm up. The Jedi seemed lost in thought, trying to understand what had just happened.

"Do you think maybe there's an inquisitor following us?" Ezra was the first to speak after chewing his first mouthful of food. All he wore was his pants and undershirt. The rest was hanging up to dry. Kanan was the same, pants, and his shirt. The shoulder armor was on the table for the evening.

"I don't know. The signature was deafly muted. I felt it close to you, and then…it vanished." Kanan was baffled still. It was like a ghost. There one minute, gone the next.

Now that he was warm and safe from a lecture, Ezra's mind drifted back to the strange guy from the market place. Ezra did get a strange feeling around him, but he didn't seem dangerous like Kanan thought, and he did just disappear into thin air as well. It had to be linked, but he decided to wait until after he had given Kanan his gift before bringing it up; he planned on facing the consequences then of lying to his master. Whoever the strange guy was meant no harm, Ezra was sure of that.

"Did you get everything on your list? Once we leave, we should be safe then…from whatever it was right?" The student decided to go along with Kanan's thought process.

"Yes, it's already on the _Phantom_ , you?" The Jedi watched his student for the answer. He put the last bite of his food in his mouth as he waited for the answer.

"Yup. All in my bag." Ezra exclaimed proudly as he patted his backpack.

"Good, we'll leave first thing in the morning so you better get some sleep, because you're not going to be allowed to sleep on the flight back." Kanan smiled slightly like a parent does when they promise ice cream, but take you to the dentist instead. Ezra didn't catch on as he yawned and threw his wrapper away. Everything from the day had finally caught up with him, and it was late.

"Good night Kanan." The sleepy padawan murmured as he let his head and body drop. Before his head hit the pillow, he was fast asleep.

His master sat on the edge of his own bed for a moment watching his student sleep. He turned after a while and looked out the window.

" _What was that feeling…I know it was someone…but who?"_ The Jedi shut his eyes after a while to meditate for a while, balancing his emotions before going to sleep himself. Tomorrow was going to be a trying day when they arrived back at the _Ghost_.


	9. Chapter 9: Lucky Stars

**** I apologize beforehand. I'm not the greatest with action scenes, so if it's not up to par count this as practice and a promise that I will do better next time! Enjoy!** ~Ocean**

 **Chapter 9: Lucky Stars**

Kanan woke to a large disturbance in the force. The Jedi shot up and looked around, eyes wide. Something was fixing to happen. The human adult got up and started to get dressed.

"Hey Kid, we need to – "The man's panicked words were drowned out with the sounds and rumbles of an explosion followed by several more series. Kanan stumbled a bit, but regained his footing fast and continued.

Ezra jumped awake from the explosions and movement, he had gotten used to things like this up in space, not when his feet were on solid ground or well, several stories up. The kid was fixing to ask what was going on, when he saw Kanan grabbing his stuff, he knew the answer to his question and got up, getting dressed as well.

Ezra grabbed his bag and lightsaber. The youth could feel the heat of the flames engulfing the city around them. He could also feel pain and fear, lots of fear.

"So, What's the plan?" The padawan looked to his master for instructions. The Jedi was currently getting his armor on.

"Back to the ship. It's a raid, the Empire somehow knows we're here." The Jedi had gone into his defined role when a plan went wrong and he had to come up with a new one with no time, and no room for error.

The two tore out of the room and to the stairwell. Their current building was one fire and spreading by the second. As they neared the bottom floor, Ezra could see the flames emerging from their exit.

"Uh, Kanan?" Said the boy hesitantly with fear flickering in his eyes. He had seen enough fire to have a fairly decent aversion to it.

"I'm thinking Kid." Kanan snapped a little more harshly than he normally would, he was trying to figure this out on the fly and his plan of escape wasn't working. The heat was getting to him. They could cut their way out, but the Empire could be waiting. They could just burst through the flames, but Ezra could get burned if he didn't focus his mind well enough. They could jump from the roof. The roof was the more logical, even if the Imperials would potentially be waiting. From all the explosions it didn't seem like they knew exactly where the Jedi and his padawan were lurking, so they decided to take out the whole city. It was Lothal all over again.

"Back up the stairs. We're going to the roof." The smoke was getting thick, and both of them felt it in their lungs. Ezra seemed much more susceptible and began coughing as they ran.

As they reached the top, Kanan flew the door open using the force and the two ran out choking and hacking trying to rid their lungs of the black smoke that had filled their lungs. The air was freezing and didn't help to calm their lungs any. Ezra and Kanan had left their cloaks in the room, it was too late to go back and get them now though.

The Jedi didn't give much time for recovery before he grabbed Ezra and began to run again. Ezra changed gears and ran along side of his master, ignoring the biting frost blowing against him. The whole city was in flames. Screams filled the airs, gun fire, wails of children. Ezra felt sick to his stomach but he kept going.

They finally made it to the bay where the _Phantom_ awaited them. The whole place was on lock down with Stormtroopers crawling everywhere. Ezra was right up against Kanan, the older man felt the fear rising from his student from his lack of air, and with all the chaos. He knew that Ezra had been burned or injured somewhere because of the pain radiating in the force. Kanan felt his student shivering violently from the cold.

He ducked them down behind some crates to keep them blocked from the cold wind blowing and to figure out the next step of his plan without the imminent risk of them being seen. He shut his eyes, ignoring the questions coming out of Ezra, regarding them as background noise. He felt around, opening himself up fully to the force to help him find an answer. He only wanted to call Hera if it was a dire emergency, so far they hadn't reached the "dire" part.

Ezra was finally able to start breathing in much needed air. His legs were wobbly and he felt light headed. He knew there was no stopping until he was told to. When Kanan stuck them behind the crates he started asking him what was going on, and how they were going to get out of it. He had fallen on deaf ears, so he turned his attention at some nearby bucket heads. He sneaked closer to hear them, willing his body to stop shaking from the cold.

"Have we uncovered him yet?" One said to the other.

"Not yet, but it won't be long before he's flushed out. The city official didn't care that we flamed the place. He said it would rid the town of the riff raff." The second one stated, almost surprised by the actions of the senator running the city.

" _Him?_ " Ezra was confused. Why weren't they looking for two?

"Why are we trying to flush this guy out anyway? This seems like overkill." The first one seemed a little clueless, he was probably a lower ranking bucket head.

"He was plotting to steal a star destroyer and start blowing up cities in the name of the empire. Like he could do that. But with that rebel cell, the Empire wants to take no chances.

Ezra made his way back to his master that, by that time, was out of his trance a little annoyed that his student had left.

"They aren't even looking for us Kanan. This is all because they're looking for some guy threatening to destroy cities under the Empire's " _Good_ " name." The youth used quotation symbols to enunciate his sarcasm.

This changed his new plan a little. They should just be able to lay low and wait it out, but Kanan was on a time crunch to get back up to the _Ghost_ in time; who knew how long they would have to wait until they were taken off of lock down. Why couldn't one of his ideas go according to plan.

"Okay, we're going to sneak onto the ship and lay low for a while. Or better yet." Kanan stood up and started walking towards the Stormtroopers.

"Halt! ID yourself and state your reason for being here!" The two raised their guns at Kanan in alarm for being snuck up on.

Ezra watched before walking over with him.

"You're the kid from the market that ran into me!" The second one sounded a little baffled and slightly annoyed.

"Yeah…I'm really sorry about that. I caught up with my dad and he laid into me a good one for disturbing your duties. Didn't you Dad? Hey what's going on anyway? We were fixing to leave when all these explosions hit."

Kanan looked down at Ezra in disbelief. He was just going to use a Jedi mind trick to get out of this. Ezra may be onto something that would get them out without any risk of detection.

"Right." Kanan placed a firm hand on his student's shoulder.

"I have told him plenty of times not to disturb you fine people while you're working so hard. When we get back to our home, he's going to be enrolling in the academy so he has a better understanding of how hard you guys work to keep us safe." The older human hoped this work and he didn't just send out all the false compliments for nothing.

"We're looking for someone accused of treason. Have you seen anyone suspicious?" The first one stepped forward a little and lowered his gun.

"No we haven't sir. Is there any way we can leave? I hate to be such a bother with all the commotion, but I want to get my son someplace safe away from all this fire. He hurt himself when we were trying to get away from all the explosions." ' _son_ ', that word just felt so right saying it, even though it wasn't true. Well, kind of not true. Ezra had turned into a son in some form.

The 2nd storm trooper seemed to radio in to someone else, which made Kanan very nervous. If this didn't work, they would be fleeing and Kanan would have to call Hera for back-up. Time seemed to stand still and Kanan was growing more and more anxious. Just before he took action, the second spoke up.

"Our commander says it's fine, but first we have to check your ship to make sure the convict isn't hiding or being harbored." The second finally lowered his weapon waiting for Kanan's next move.

Kanan thought quickly if something on the _Phantom_ would cause alarm. If anything, from there he could just use a mind trick without any form of danger. He decided it was safe.

"Of course sir. We would greatly appreciate it. Don't feel like getting away from all this to have my ship hi-jacked." The Jedi had yet to release his grip on Ezra's shoulder, it was a good reminder that his student was still safe. Sometimes, the physical connection was better than a mental one. He headed to the ship and opened the ramp letting them on while the two Jedi waited outside.

"Kanan…you can release my shoulder." Ezra hissed quietly, Kanan retracted his hand afterwards he realized that the clothing where his hand was torn with blood.

"What happened?" Ezra's master looked at him with concern before starting to look the wound over. It wasn't too bad. Maybe a stich or two.

"There was a piece of metal sticking out of the wall and it grazed me as we were running down the stairs. It's fine." He turned the injury away from Kanan, as if that would prove how tough he was. The oldest would let it slide for now, but would revisit the subject again when they were safe on the ship and free from all this chaos.

The first Stormtrooper came out.

"You, come in here. We need to show you something." They all sounded the same and it greatly annoyed Kanan, he couldn't tell if they were going to shoot him, or knock him out.

"Ezra stay here." The man turned and walked up the ramp; Hand casually placed close to where his lightsaber was hidden, just in case.

"Yes officer?" He looked over with feigned curiosity as to why he was called in.

"You may want to have a mechanic look over your system. It's out of date and if it malfunctions, your engines could potential set fire." Kanan let out a breath he had been holding. Sometimes he wished he could read minds easily.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to get that done. It's on the wife's honey-do list, but with her nagging I just don't want to, if you know what I mean?" Kanan let out a chuckle. The upgrades were always on Hera's list of to-do. Normally, it was another form of distraction that didn't allow for it to be completed.

Both of the storm troopers laughed in agreement before they left to continue patrol satisfied that the ship was clear to leave. Ezra jumped in and closed the ramp. He saw Kanan checking for trackers or anything else that may have been planted. When he was convinced nothing bad had been done. He practically fell into the pilot seat letting out a huge sigh.

"We must finally have some luck." Luck, something that was never on their side when it was just the two of them. Usually it took a miracle or Hera to get them out of these kinds of predicaments.

"Yeah, now can we get out of here please? Before they change their minds?" Ezra pleaded, he was done with this planet, and done with fire, and just wanted to go back to sleep.

Kanan fired up the engines and took off quickly, but casually. They were soon leaving the flaming city behind. He felt bad for everything that happened to the civilians; it actually angered him, but he knew there was nothing he could do without endangering countless more lives.

Kanan decided to take the longer route, he knew the others weren't done as they were about 14 hours ahead of schedule. He engaged auto-pilot before turning to his student.

"Let's get the arm looked at. If I take care of it, we don't have to let Hera know what happened. If she found out, you'd probably have to stay in the medical bay for smoke inhalation and the injury." He smiled slightly, he knew Ezra hated the medical bay and would do anything to avoid it, even let his master sew him back together.

"Fine. But…you do know what you're doing right?" Ezra didn't want Hera to know. But how much first aid did Kanan really know?

"Of course. I've had to stich myself up plenty of times. Left some horrible scars, but I'm still alive right?" The master laughed out loud as he teased his student. He saw Ezra pale slightly and tense.

"No, really Kid. I've done this plenty of times. Now take your shirt off." The older one stood and left to get the medical supplies he had just purchased and walked back. Ezra was sitting in his chair with this shirt off, his whole back was burned, the worst was the shoulder. The kid's back would heal within a day and was just red and agitated.

Kanan sat down across from Ezra and opened the kit. He began to take care of his student gently, numbing the location before adding a few stitches to keep the wound closed so it would heal properly. Ezra watched him with fascination.

"I think I did a pretty good job. I believe I passed my Form 0 quiz right, master?" The kid smiled. Kanan returned it, he was right. Ezra didn't even use his sling shot. He worked out his problems without resorting to violence.

"You did well. And you handled the stress and chaos calmly, just like a Jedi would. I'm proud of you kid." Ezra beamed. He sought approval from his master often, but normally in small failed attempts during practice. The kid always loved to hear that his Jedi master was proud of him.

"Great, so can you stop calling me 'kid' now?" Ezra made a face as his master laughed.

"Not a chance." Kanan was just like Ezra at that age, except, he was going to make sure his padawan didn't grow up how he did, alone and unguided.

The Jedi cleaned up and gave Ezra a fresh shirt to wear.

"Get some sleep, we have several hours before we get back." Kanan spoke gently as he sat back in the pilot's chair. His student nodded and dressed before going and laying across the benches in the back. Soon enough, Ezra was fast asleep.


	10. Chapter 10: O Christmas Tree

**Chapter 10: O Christmas Tree**

The two arrived about 8 hours later. Ezra had told his master to stay in the cockpit for the last hour while he did something in the back. The Jedi questioned, but allowed it, hearing lots of paper rustling as his student secretly wrapped up gifts for his friends.

It was Christmas Eve, and Ezra wanted to make sure the gifts were presentable the next day. He wrapped up Kanan's and kept it on him at all times. He was going to give it to Kanan alone with no one around.

Kanan docked the _Phantom_ and got up.

"Everything stays between us right Kid?" The Jedi said this casually, but Ezra saw a small glint of plead in his eyes. Kanan never opened up like he had; the teen knew that if he wanted to continue learning more about his master's forbidden past, things would need to be kept between the two of them.

"Right!" Ezra picked up his backpack, and gathered the supplies they had been sent for before heading into the _Ghost._

Immediately upon entering, Ezra saw red and green plastered all over the main ship. He had to blink a few times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

"What the….?" Was all he got out as he continued to walk looking around.

"Merry Christmas Kid." Sabine stated happily behind him. He turned to face her.

She had dyed her hair with red and green streaks for the occasion and wore a Santa hat. The teenager had really gotten into the Christmas mood.

"How?...Why?...Who?" Ezra was speechless. He watched as Kanan and Hera walked up.

"This was all Sabine's idea. She wanted you to have some good memories with us that also reminded you of the good in your past. We had Kanan take you away so we could decorate the ship. Mind you I think she may have gone a little overboard." Hera spoke kindly smiling at the boy.

"What did you do?" Ezra was curious about that. The young Jedi was full of mixed emotions. He wanted to be angry because he never wanted to celebrate this holiday again without his parents. But the more he looked around, the more the anger melted into a feeling he hadn't felt in a very long time. Love.

"You'll see. I hope you're not mad. I did the research and tried to duplicate everything I could with our given resources. I even got a tree…kinda. It's not real, but I did the best I could." Sabine was smiling at the boy, Kanan could tell that she was a little apprehensive, scared of what his student was going to think of everything.

"I love it Sabine. Thank you." Ezra went and set everything down on the table in the common room. He proceeded to search the ship looking at everything. So many memories of his parents flooded his mind, he caught himself fighting back tears when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"You okay?" Kanan had felt the youngling's emotions and went to check on him while the girls put the supplies away. It was very late, but Sabine wanted to stay up to make sure she saw Ezra.

"Yeah…everything is nice. I'm really glad that I found you guys. Without you, I wouldn't have ever gotten another family and I would still be alone on the streets. Thank you Kanan." The Jedi was surprised by all the sentiment coming from the boy. There was no sarcasm at all.

"You're welcome. I think you're the one that should be thanked. We were just a crew until you came along. You are what really turned us into a family." He released his grip on Ezra right before Sabine came in.

"Hera is going to try and make cookies! That's the only thing Zeb really wanted. We got a lot of good pictures of him decorating. We'll show you later." She was very excited about everything, something rare to see in the Mandalorian unless she was fixing to blow something up.

"Hey Sabine? Where's the tree?" Ezra had been looking for the tree since she mentioned it, but he had yet to find it. He imagined it as a huge painting somewhere on the ship; he just didn't know where. He heard the girl let out a small giggle.

Kanan flinched slightly as he felt what was coming, a small disturbance coming from the area the pilot was in.

"SABINE! WHAT DID YOU DO!?" Hera's voice echoed throughout the ship. Sabine fell into a fit of laughter. Kanan had never heard Hera's voice raise to that level. He quickly decided to never piss her off.

"So worth the punishment I'm fixing to get. I regret nothing." The older teenager managed to get through her laughter. Kanan and Ezra were dumbfounded at what was happening.

Hera stormed in. Looking very upset.

"Come on, it's a little funny Hera." The Mando girl said with a huge grin on her face.

Both Jedi's saw a very small grin on the Twi-leks face before it disappeared as she continued to lecture the female child, the seriousness starting to faulter the more she thought about it.

"He's going to be mad. I'm not responsible for the damages." Hera tried to reason, but the girl bantered back to the pilot.

"It was your suggestion in the first place. You said that I would think of something. I did and it works perfectly, lights and all." She was holding back her laughter and holding her sides.

By this point the two males in the room were just watching back and forth completely confused. Ezra's sadness from missing his parents had completely left him.

The padawan was fixing to say something when Chopper came screaming down the hall. The little droid sounded angry and out for revenge. The four looked over at all the commotion.

Sabine had turned off the droid while he was charging and painted him Green with lots of painted on ornaments. His probe up on top now harbored a star that was lit up through Sabine's ingenious wiring; shiny tinsel secured tightly around him.

"He was the perfect shape I needed…and you said I couldn't paint the walls of the ship..you said nothing about Chopper." She said starting to laugh again.

Kanan covered his mouth, his body quaking from holding back laughter at the sight of the droid forced to be in the Christmas spirit. His student next to him was doubled over, laughing so hard there was no sound coming out.

"Wait til Zeb sees him." Sabine said before the old droid zeroed in on his attacker.

Chopper beeped angrily and sparked up his taser going full on after Sabine, who took off running down the hall to avoid the wrath of the grouchy droid. Her laughing echoed around the ship.

"Come on Hera…That was hilarious." Kanan said with a wide grin.

"Okay, it was. But seriously? He's going to be trying to shock anyone near him for the next month." The Twi-lek said with a small chuckle.

Ezra was still laughing and was on his knees by this point, unable to hold himself up. It had been a very long time since he had laughed this much. So far this was the best Christmas ever.


	11. Chapter 11: Pre-Dawn Snack

**** Hey guys, just a short chapter today :). Trying to decide if I'm going to drag this out until Christmas, or if it's going to conclude before then. Hope you enjoy!* ~Ocean**

 **Chapter 11: Pre-Dawn Snack**

Ezra tossed and turned all night. He never woke up, but when he had finally drifted off there was much on the young padawan's mind that he remained restless. When he would wake up later, he would find himself very stiff in the arm from the stiches being tugged on all night.

Kanan was in the same boat, but remained wide awake. The older man could feel the unsettling of his student. He had attempted to calm him multiple times, but it never lasted long. The Jedi finally probed his mind a little and found no trace of nightmares so decided to leave him be for the time being. There was too much on his own mind at the time.

Kanan was trying to figure out what he had felt in the city. Someone had been there but had not wanted it to be known that he was there. The signature was too blocked to know if it was good or evil, it was very powerful. The Jedi was worried that somehow Ezra was going to be controlled, or followed by a Sith, or Inquisitor.

The older human had checked over Ezra, while the boy slept, for any potential tracking devices the Empire could have secretly planted on him while they were separated. He had seen all the goodies in the boy's bag as well during his search, but Kanan had let those stay a secret.

Even now, he could sense something different emitting from the boy, but what? It frustrated Kanan and he growled softly rolling over.

He looked over at his holo-clock. 4:17am. He could get up now and it would normal; usually the "parents" of the ship were up early going over plans for the day. The man sighed, he hardly ever got a full night's rest. It was very tiring.

Kanan finally got up and dressed heading to the common room. There, on the table, was several crudely wrapped parcels with brown paper and string tied into bows, each one was addressed to a member of the ship's crew. The Jedi smiled softly seeing this. The adult human started to get a fresh pot of coffee started and noticed a plate of cookies, he walked past it casually snagging one and sticking it in his mouth as he got a mug to pour his coffee in.

"I thought you didn't like sweets?" The Jedi startled, the cookie falling from his mouth doing a fine set of acrobatics before Kanan finally managed to catch it trying to hide the evidence.

"I uh…okay fine. I like cookies, it's rare that I ever get to eat them." Hera smiled. Kanan had known lying was futile against the pilot; sometimes he swore she was force-sensitive. He proceeded to eat the round moist dessert. When he got his cup of coffee, he snagged another sitting down.

"What are these for?" The Twi-lek asked motioning to the parcels on the table. She saw the one addressed for her and had a mild look of child-like excitement.

"My guess? Christmas presents from our youngest crew member." Kanan said after swallowing a bite of coffee dipped cookie. The human did not see one with his name on it, he would never admit it, but he was slightly hurt that he didn't get one. The Jedi figured Ezra didn't get him one because of that being exactly what he was, a Jedi. They weren't supposed to receive gifts right?

"You don't have one, why?" Hera seemed to read his mind constantly. She watched him tense very slightly before relaxing back to his neutral stance.

"Yeah, I think the kid understands that Jedi aren't supposed to be materialistic." Kanan mustered up a smile as he spoke before eyeing the plate of cookies again.

The female cocked an eyebrow as she took a sip of her drink. Hera decided to drop the subject and move on.

"You can have one more, but then save the rest for when the "kids" wake up love." She smiled at Kanan again.

He got up grabbing his last one sitting back down to enjoy it, purposely keeping his eyes off the table.

"They are good Hera, thank you." Kanan had almost forgotten to thank the motherly Twi-lek for her donation to Sabine's surprise.

The two sat in near silence the next few hours, enjoying the peace before the remaining crew members woke up. Both knew that silence and peace was impossible after that.


	12. Chapter 12: Unwrapped

**Chapter 12: Unwrapped**

Sabine was the next one to emerge into the common area next. Kanan had left the room to go follow his morning routines of meditation and training, so it was just Hera for the time being.

She saw the presents and quickly found hers. She picked it up and rotated it slightly to try and figure out what it was.

"Who got all the gifts? Are these Christmas gifts?" She looked to her surrogate mother figure who was looking through the holo net.

"Ezra got the gifts, and that's what I'm assuming. I think you should wait to…" Hera started but stopped short as Sabine had already begun to open the gift like a kid, well, on Christmas.

The teenage girl gasped softly as she looked at the closed, but intricately designed wooden box.

"It's beautiful…" Hera watched as the girl opened the box, exposing the art set hidden within. Sabine's eyes lit up.

"How did he find this…this kit is hundreds of years old…you can't find this stuff anymore." She closed the box and held it close to her.

Like the others, the 5 spectres didn't own much, but she would cherish this forever. Hera smiled.

"Ezra put a lot of thought into your gift Sabine, just like you did when you decorated the ship." The older woman stated softly. She eyed her own again.

"You can open it Hera. You don't have to wait for me. I barely waited for my parents to open my gifts when I was younger." Ezra yawned as he came in. He was surprised when Sabine rushed up to him and almost pummeled him with a tight hug.

"I love it. Thank you!" She backed away looking at the blushing padawan.

"I'm going to paint you something with this. Right now!" She said excitedly as she practically skipped down the hall. Neither of the two in the common room had ever seen Sabine this. Cheerful. Hera chuckled at the blank stare Ezra was given. She picked up her gift and started to open it.

Ezra walked over to get something to snack on.

"Where did you and Kanan go?" Hera stated questioningly as she gazed at her gift.

"We've been looking for a very long time for these tools. It must have cost you a fortune. This has everything we need and more." She looked up at Ezra, the boy just shrugged as he took another bite of his toast. He was glad that his friends were enjoying their gifts.

Hera came over and gave him his second hug for the day.

"Thank you so much Ezra. I'm really sorry I didn't think to give you anything…" The pilot looked down slightly, she felt guilty about not getting any gifts for him.

"Are you kidding? You let me live on the ship, you took me in. Plus, getting to see Chopper painted as a lit up tree was the best thing ever. I don't need any gifts. My parents always taught me it was not about the receiving as much as it was about the giving and being with family." Ezra smiled a big wide grin and rubbed the back of his head.

"They raised you right Ezra. Don't ever forget that." Hera smiled down at him again.

"Ezra? Why didn't you get Kanan anything? Did he do something that made you mad at him?" Her smile switched to a frown of motherly concern.

"Oh, no…I got him something…but it's a present that I wanted to give him later…when it was just the two of us. It's really special, between us Jedi you know…I guess you can say a secret. He said he never got gifts growing up and so I wanted to get him a really nice gift. Don't tell him anything?" The teen kept his voice quiet in fear that his master would overhear.

"I promise. I'm going to go and try and coax Chopper out of my room. He is not in a good mood. But I convinced him to stay painted until the day was over at least. I told him it meant a lot to me, and that Sabine was free game for a month. He agreed." She finished off her coffee and grabbed her new tool kit.

"Take his gift, it will benefit him after today then." Ezra grabbed the gift off the table and handed it to Hera who took it and left down the hall to her room.

The young padawan spotted the cookies finally and walked over grabbing a few.

"Hey save some for me Kid!" Zeb walked into the room, grouchy as normal.

"I'm the one that suggested the cookies, so I should get the most!" The Lesat made a move for the plate but Ezra snatched it before he could.

"You don't need them. If you gained anymore weight, you wouldn't fit through the cabin door." The teen teased the honor guard as he concentrated to bring the plate high up and placing it so Zeb couldn't reach.

"At least if I sleep on the top bunk I'm not heavy enough to make it break." The older male tried to make a grab for the cookies growing in frustration but chuckling at his own comeback.

"Chopper unscrewed the bed! I should get more, I'm smaller." The youngling shoved his last cookie from his hand in his mouth trying to think of a way to escape. He had no intentions of eating the cookies and sharing, but he had to have fun first.

"I'm older and bigger. I require more" The infuriated Lesat growled.

Ezra snorted.

"Yeah you're bigger because you eat too much. Maybe that's why you smell. I bet if you didn't eat everything you would smell like flowers." The teen was still too sleepy to go with his normal retorts.

"Why I otta…." Zeb stopped before moving to tackle Ezra. He eyed the brown packages addressed to him on the table.

"What are these for? Some kind of trick?" He raised his eye brow suspiciously.

"No, they're presents for you. I found them in the market and thought of you. They're Christmas presents. Open them, but start with the bigger one first." The teenager smiled a little, remaining on guard.

"A present? For me?" Zeb grabbed the larger one and unwrapped it staring at the small action figure.

"They had these on my planets for the younglings when I first became an honor guard." Ezra could feel the emotions flooding the taller humanoid figure in the room.

He watched as Zeb traced over the doll with his claw. Looking over all the details and reminiscing.

"I couldn't find too much that I thought you would like, and then I saw that. It caught my eye because it looks like you. I'm sorry if you don't like it." Ezra was done with the teasing and had brought the plate back down setting it next to the Lesat as a peace offering.

"No, I like it. Thanks kid…" The larger being gently placed the figure down, ignoring the cookies as he reached for the smaller second gift.

"I get two?" He asked with young wonder in his voice and eyes. Ezra rarely saw the soft side of the normally gruff male. The padawan nodded.

Seconds later, Hera startled hearing the boys tearing through the ship.

"You smell worse than I do! Humans smell worse than wampa dung roasting in the sun!" The gruff older male shouted after the boy.

"Have you smelled yourself recently? I at least shower! The soap is supposed to smell like a forest, maybe we should wash your bed roll in it too!" Ezra called back not bothering to stop.

It sounded like Zeb was chasing Ezra as the two yelled at each other, the cookies completely forgotten. Hera chuckled to herself.

"Right on time Chopper. You know, I don't think those two could go a whole day without fighting. At least it livens things up a bit and leaves this ship not as boring right?" She looked down at her droid in his corner on the charger. She was responded to by a series of beeps in agreement. Hera set the gift down next to Chopper on the desk.

"This is a present from Ezra. He said you would like it after today." Hera was starting to like this Christmas thing. It seemed to raise the crew's morale and strengthen the bond between them. Not because of the gifts, but because it helped them learn a little bit more about everyone else.

Chopper used his arms to rip open the brown paper, making a noise of approval at the gift laying in front of him. He picked up the polishing kit waving it, zooming around the room. Hera laughed.

"If you really like it, you should go thank him." The droid beeped in agreement before leaving the room waving the gift as she headed down the hall.

Hera sat back.

" _I think we should do this every year. It really is fun."_ She wanted to know what Ezra had gotten his master, but didn't want to pry. If Kanan wanted to let her know, he would. She would just have to wait.

She got up and left her room, heading to take care of a few chores, letting the kids play with their new "toys". Occasionally she would hear Ezra running, yelling insults at Zeb, who returned them trying to catch up with the kid. Chopper, the little green tree droid beeped and chased behind trying to thank Ezra, forgetting for the moment what Sabine had done to him. It was turning out the be a good day.


	13. Chapter 13: The Best Gift

**** Just a few more chapters guys! Hope everyone is enjoying it! This was a fun challenge to do. I have quite enjoyed it.**~Ocean**

 **Chapter 13: The Best Gift**

Several hours later, everything had died down. Sabine was in her room with her new art set, Zeb was running diagnostics, Chopper was making repairs, and Ezra was off on his own doing something. Hera had no clue what, and couldn't find him.

She finally went and knocked on Kanan's room.

"Come in." The Jedi hadn't left his room all day. He knew who was behind the door. Kanan knew all the footsteps, the feelings and emotions and the noises that everyone made. Hera walked in looking at the Jedi on his meditation chair.

"You're padawan is missing." The Twi-lek leaned against the frame of the door and crossed her arms. She wasn't concerned really, it just seemed strange to her that Ezra would just disappear. She thought maybe he was upset about the whole Christmas idea.

"I was hoping you had seen him, or were out training with him." She watched as the older male got up and heading for the door. Usually they were practicing at this hour when they were on down time. The Twi-lek was surprised that the two weren't together arguing about concentrating or focusing.

"When was the last time you saw him? Did anyone go with him?" It wasn't like Ezra to just up and leave without saying anything to someone. Kanan had felt no disturbances in the force either. Maybe the mysterious person had done something to the Kid but he didn't know it.

They had landed a few hours ago to refuel the ship and just relax without a high risk of the Empire spotting them. Tomorrow they would return to their normal day routine of assignments, running for their lives, and fighting the Empire.

"I saw him right before we landed and no. If someone had gone with him, I wouldn't have come in here to ask you. He didn't take his communications link with him either, it's on his bed." Hera filled in Kanan with what she knew while she followed the Jedi to the ramp watching him leave once the ramp was on the ground.

Kanan stepped onto solid ground; he felt around the force to locate his student. Ezra was close, safe and unharmed. The Jedi looked around for his student seeing him several meters away. He walked to where his padawan was.

Ezra had grown tired of waiting for Kanan to emerge from his cabin so when they landed he went out to train on his own. He didn't want to bother his master, and he also was trying to figure when and how to present Kanan with his gift. Kanan walked up to see Ezra levitating 7 stones; slowly the padawan would concentrate more on one of them and get it to rise and fall.

"Good Job Kid. I see you've been practicing." The Jedi Master watched as his student startled and the stones fell.

"Hi Kanan, yeah. I didn't want to not have practice today so I came out here. Is it time to leave?" Ezra stood up from where he had been perched on a rock and brushed himself off. He turned to head back to the _Ghost_.

"No, Zeb and Chopper are finishing the last of everything up so we can jump to our next location. How you managed to escape chores is beyond me. Sorry about training, I was preoccupied and meditating. If you want, since you've already been training, I can show you a game my master used to play with me when she taught me multiple item levitation." Kanan smiled slightly and his student returned it. Ezra always loved when Kanan showed him something new.

The two spent the rest of the afternoon playing Kanan's game. The Jedi was easy on Ezra at first, slowly becoming more of a challenge. The object of the game was that each person had three rocks to control, both players moved the rocks across the playing field to get to the "goal" on the other side. The catch was that you could attempt to take control of your opponents rocks and move them out of the playing field.

Kanan had learned this after he had first met his master and she had saved them from some lunatic that threw a handful of bombs at her for her to try and diffuse at once.

Kanan set up a very large playing field with some obstacles from the ship and things he found in the field. Hera watched from a distance as her two boys had fun playing. Rarely would Kanan show this much softness and relaxed nature. She loved it. Ezra brought the best out in the Jedi.

The pilot walked closer. It was going to be dark soon, and she wanted to be up in the sky before nightfall.

"Okay boys. Time to leave. It's almost dark." Hera said in a motherly tone.

Both looked at her, the stones levitating at a hold for the moment. Ezra smiled.

"I didn't' realize it was so late. How long have we been playing?" The youth enjoyed this game and he had gotten really good at his focus. Kanan hardly had to slow himself down.

"It's been about three hours. Oh, and Sabine was looking for you. I think she had something to give you." Hera turned as she started to head back. Sabine went to give Ezra his gift about an hour ago, but saw the two males bonding and left them be, but not before taking a few holos.

Kanan allowed his rocks to fall as he got up from his spot on the ground.

"That was a good game Ezra. You were really focused, better than when we're training. Maybe I'll incorporate more games in with practice. You seem to do a lot better." The Jedi followed Hera in, he had forgotten about not getting a present. He stopped when he felt hesitation coming from his student; he looked over his shoulder, Ezra was watching the sun begin to set facing the opposite of the _Ghost_.

"You okay kid?" He asked watching the kid with concerned eyes. Ezra turned and ran over heading up the ramp. He would give Kanan the gift tonight.

"Yep! I'm going to go find Sabine." The younger teen went looking for Sabine who was battling over the cookies in the common room. Chopper had the last and was threating her with a shock if she touched it. He kept beeping angrily.

"Come on Chop. You can't even eat cookies. Give them here." The Mandalorian was inching towards the droid with her hand out peacefully. Out of nowhere Zeb appeared, grabbed the last cookie on the plate and dashed out of the room.

"Hera created a cookie monster out of Zeb…" The human teen said as he walked into the commons. Chopper beeped and hummed at him before reaching out and shocking Sabine, turning, dropping the plate and leaving.

"Hera said you were looking for me." Ezra sat at the table expecting the girl to hand him a list of things to do. Instead, a small wrapped package was shoved in his direction. It was flat, and about the size of a tablet. The artist had drawn all over the wrapping to make it look very festive.

"This is from everyone." Sabine stated someone cheerily as she watched Ezra inspect it. The young Jedi looked around as the others entered the room to watch him unwrap it.

"I uh….Thanks everyone. What is it?" The kid picked it up and unwrapped it holding up the journal with wide eyes.

"My journal…but where did you find it?..." Only Kanan could feel the emotions and memories flooding his student. He wasn't caught up with what was going on, but he knew that journal was something very special to the kid.

"Chop found it at the base of your tower underneath some trash. He's had it all this time." Sabine stated as the droid whirled proudly at his find.

"This…this was the last thing my parents ever gave to me. It was the first thing I never appreciated getting…After they left…I lost it and never found it again. Thank you so much guys." Ezra refused to cry in front of everyone. He wasn't a kid anymore. He brushed away a bit of dust on the screen, accidentally activating the journal.

His parents popped up in a hologram, but this time there was sound.

" _Ezra,_

 _Merry Christmas sweet heart. I know this journal doesn't seem that great now, but with how smart and observant you are, you can fill the chip with so much knowledge that you can share with your own kids when you have them."_ The woman's voice was cheerful and happy.

" _Encoded in the journal is also some fun stories that I wrote in my own journal when I was your age. I hope you can put this to good use. Your mother and I are very proud of you. We know you will do great things son."_ His father beamed at the camera. The two leaned closer to each other before both saying:

" _We love you so much Ezra. Never change who you are. Merry Christmas."_

The image of his parents faded out as the journal popped up with a blank entry waiting for Ezra to put his entry in. The whole room was dead silent, even the little droid gave a moment of silent to Ezra.

Zeb was watching in disbelief. He felt bad for the kid, no one his age should have to go through so much loss. He hoped that they could one day find his parents, but then, would Ezra stay with them?

The young padawan had shut his eyes and put his head down his chin hitting his chest. He kept repeating in his head that he wasn't going to cry. The crew gave him the best gift he had ever gotten…. Hera stepped over and pulled the boy into one of her best hugs yet.

"This is the best Christmas guys. Thank you everyone…and thank you for finding it Chopper" Ezra reached out and patted the old droid in thanks.

"Tomorrow morning how about I get your new kit and get you polished up?" He grinned pushing away his sadness. The droid beeped in approval before steering from the room making sure his star was lit up.

"Don't worry, I have plans for the next holiday. Chopper makes the best canvas I found out." Sabine chirped in.

Slowly, the crew dissipated to continue doing things around the ship. Ezra stayed sitting in the commons with his journal deep in thought for a long time. He felt the ship moving and going into space, he heard everyone around the ship but he just sat there quietly replaying the message his parents had left him eight years ago over and over again.

The kid could not have asked for a better gift for Christmas; it wasn't the journal by any means or Sabine's decorations. It was the new family he had.

He stood up and took the journal to his room placing it with his belongings. He took notice that Zeb had put his figuring on a shelf over his bunk, the soap was missing; Ezra would find it in the fresher the next time he went to shower. The kid smiled before he reached under his pillow and grabbed the small gift for his master.

Ezra left the room, heading for Kanan's. He hoped that his mentor and new father figure loved the gift. He felt nervous and scared. What if Kanan didn't like the gift, what if he thought it was too girly, or if he followed the Jedi teachings too much and didn't want something.

The padawan shook his head of the thoughts. Kanan wasn't a normal Jedi, that's why he liked his master so much. Ezra knocked on the door waiting for the older Jedi to invite him in.


	14. Chapter 14: Traditions & The Secret Gift

**Chapter 14: Traditions and The Secret Gift**

"What did you need Kid?" Kanan's voice was his usual calm, but not in his cabin.

Ezra looked over in the direction of the commons area where his master's voice had come from. The padawan abandoned the door and walked the little ways to get there.

"I was going-" The youth paused when he saw Hera, Zeb and Chopper there as well. The four of them were looking over maps of the galaxy. The Rebel Alliance had been trying to find a safe place to set up a base; everyone was hands on with this.

"I uh was going to tell you thank you, about today. I enjoyed training today." Ezra smiled and quickly hid the present in his jacket as he spoke, being awarded with a cocked eyebrow of his master.

"You were upset about not having practice and we had a day off. There is nothing to thank me about." Kanan turned back to the map; the Jedi had seen that Ezra had something that had been hidden quickly. He was intrigued but didn't pursue the matter; the day was almost over and they needed to get back to their assignments.

Ezra noticed that Zeb and Chopper seemed to be watching him with nothing other than mischievous glee.

"What's going on with you two?" The padawan gave them a look as he asked in a suspicious tone. Kanan looked over; the two had been like this since they came in. Both the "parents" of the crew were on guard, waiting for something to happen.

"Hera and I don't know either. They wouldn't talk. They've been waiting for you and Sabine to come out from your cabins though." The older human said, obviously unamused from a prior attempt at questioning the two.

"Chopper and I have a present for you and Sabine. We worked really hard on it. It's down in the cargo hold." The Lesat simply stated with casual delight. Chopper beeped in agreement waving his arms.

"You didn't have to get me anything you guys. I had a lot of fun. The kid can have it." Sabine walked in freshly showered. She didn't have her armor on and actually looked like a normal teenager for once. Ezra looked behind him to see her.

Chopper beeped and whirled upset saying something about how it was a Christmas tradition and that Christmas wasn't complete without it. This puzzled the younger Jedi, trying to figure out what part he was as he turned and headed down into the hold. Everything that happened so far was all he knew about Christmas. That and his past experiences; as far as the boy knew there was no more tradition that he could remember. Chopper and Zeb followed suit. The Mandalorian teen shrugged and turned, following the other crew members.

Ezra looked around at the Christmas decorated space; he didn't see a wrapped present anywhere.

"Okay Chop, where is this traditional gift?" The older teenager walked around as well not seeing anything herself.

"It's over by the ramp" The Lesat casually motioned to the ramp where there was a holo laying on the floor. Ezra and Sabine met there, Ezra bent over and picked up the holo turning it over before handing it to Sabine who activated it. There was nothing but a huge 3D arrow pointing upwards.

Both of the teens looked up to see fake tree-like plant hanging upside down with a red bow attached to you. Sabine's face scrunched up as she recognized it from the archives she had viewed; She knew that they had been tricked. The female teenager glanced over to Ezra, who looked extremely confused.

"How is this a tradi…" Sabine leaned over and gently placed a kiss on his cheek before turning and running towards the two laughing figures. Chopper had gotten several holos to stow away for the most inopportune time.

"uh-oh" Was all the larger male said as he and Chopper took off to get away from the Mandalorian wrath that would soon be inflicted on them.

"Get back here!" Sabine shouted leaving an extremely confused padawan standing where she had left him.

Hera and Kanan looked up to see the three tearing down the hall. The Jedi felt embarrassment coming from the two younger crew members, but didn't see his student in the lot. He was slightly concern that something had happened but those four were always pulling pranks on one another.

"I'm going to go check on Ezra." Kanan got up and took the stairs down into the cargo hold. Ezra was walking towards that direction, a small blush still across his face.

"What happened?" The older man asked with mild interest at the look of his student.

"I don't know Kanan. There was a tree and arrow and then Sabine kissed me." The boy gently touched where Sabine's lips had brushed his skin and he blushed more. His master looked at Ezra with slight disbelief; Sabine always shrugged off any of Ezra's feeble attempts to flirt with her.

"huh? Never mind." Kanan shook his head; he decided to get answers from Sabine later since she seemed to understand what it meant more than his confused student before him.

"Ezra why were you going to my room earlier? What did you need to speak with me about?" Kanan's thoughts went back to seeing Ezra hiding something. If it was important, the Jedi would prefer to know now instead of later.

"Oh, I wanted to give you something. It's a little personal, so I've been waiting until you were in your room." The padawan unconsciously felt the package in his pocket as he spoke; he was still trying to sort out what just happened.

"You got me something; Ezra you didn't have to" Kanan's voice seem to light up happily as he realized that Ezra hadn't neglected to get him something. He realized earlier he was being selfish about the present and just decided to let it go.

"Yeah I know, but I wanted to get you something, can I give it to you in your room?" The boy spoke quietly, not wanting anyone else to know. Ezra didn't know why the gift had to be a secret, somehow he just knew.

"Sure." Kanan watched his student quizzically for a few seconds before the two ascended the stairs and went to his room. Kanan opened the door and walked in first followed by Ezra who was full of doubt and concern that his master wouldn't like the gift.

After Ezra heard the door shut he slowly pulled out the wrapped gift and presented it to his master. The older Jedi felt all of Ezra's feelings, which made him wonder even more as to what was inside the wrapped parcel.

Kanan gently took the gift and unwrapped it turning the box over with some familiarity. He had seen the box before, but where? He couldn't remember.

He opened the box and his eyes widened. Ezra was watching him with curiosity one moment and the next he was being force slammed against the wall; his master advanced on him with a look of pure anger.

"Where did you get this?!" Kanan asked in a very accusing manner. His thoughts simply went to believe that Ezra had stolen this.

Ezra's eyes widened with fear. For the first time in his life, he thought Kanan was going to kill him.

 **** Trying to draw the story out so yes, I ended on a cliffhanger :) Will write more tonight and probably post tomorrow evening when I get off of work. Hope you enjoyed!** ~Ocean**


	15. Chapter 15: Guilt

**Chapter 15: Guilt**

Ezra couldn't move, the force was keeping him against the wall. The padawan watched as Kanan advanced on him. Ezra shut his eyes cringing, waiting for something bad to happen.

Kanan immediately regretted his choice when he felt the fear the boy he had just shoved and held up against the wall. The boy that he had come to trust and love like a son.

The Jedi's features changed immediately as he dropped his hold on the boy backing away slightly.

Ezra slid down, quickly scrambling back up to his feet. Kanan didn't know what to say, he was confused and lost; it had been a long time since he had lost control like this.

"Ezra I…Just Leave." The older human needed to get himself under control. He opened the door to his room.

" _What the hell just got into me? I just attacked my own student."_ If Kanan was at the temple, he would have been exiled immediately or worse. He felt horrible.

Ezra turned to leave quickly and then stopped turning around with narrowed eyes.

"No." He simply said standing his ground moving his hand to shut the door behind him using the force.

"What?" The Jedi looked up at his student in disbelief. Not only did he just disobey a direct command, Ezra wasn't running away from him after what he just did.

"I said no. You can't do something like that and then tell me to leave Kanan. Not without some kind of answer as to what the necklace means and why the hell you acted that way to me. I'm not leaving until you tell me." The younger Jedi raised his voice actually pretty frustrated now.

"I don't have to tell you anything. Now I said to get out." Kanan's voice was a deadly calm, daring his student to so insubordination. Unlucky for the Jedi, his student hadn't been raised to be obedient in a temple like Kanan had. Defying authority was a specialty for Ezra.

"No. Not until I get the answers I want. Also, a simple 'thank-you' Ezra for thinking of me enough to get a gift would have been nice instead of being slammed up against the wall and half choked. Then there's the fact that I didn't even pick out that stupid necklace some old man gave it to me saying you'd love it and it would be perfect. Man, if I could find him now and tell him how wrong he was I would. "Anger was radiating from Kanan's padawan.

The older human realized that his student was only mimicking his role model and knew something would have to give before this got out of control.

Kanan rethought his current choices and shut his eyes taking a deep breath in before sighing heavily. Ezra was ready for him to yell at him to get out. The boy was surprised when his master opened his eyes keeping them soft along with his tone of voice.

"You're right Kid. I'm sorry. My actions were uncalled for and if I had ever done that in the temple I would have been severely punished. I should have never let my anger control me. I wasn't thinking." Kanan figured he should start with an apology.

He walked over and sat on his bunk motioning for his student to follow suit. Ezra came over and sat down watching Kanan.

"This necklace once belonged to my master. It was one possession that she kept to remind her of the peaceful times before the Empire. Master Billaba kept this necklace hidden because of us not being able to have material possessions. I only saw her wear it once, but it was not for long. She told me that it had belonged to one of her ancestors and it was a symbol of strength. I don't know how she came across it herself; normally Jedi initiates were gathered as infants so we didn't know our families. I was angry because-" Kanan was interrupted.

"Because you thought I had stolen it from somewhere." Ezra's voice was a little hurt and a little bitter. His felt that his master still didn't trust him.

"It was wrong of me to think that way of you and I apologize again. You've turned into a really great person. I'm proud of who you are and who you are becoming." Kanan's voice was quiet, full of sorrow at the memory of his master.

"I ran into this guy at the market, actually it was about where you met up with me asking if I was okay. He was old and shuffled around his vendor trolley and pull this out of all his stuff. He said to tell you 'hi'" Ezra relaxed at the words of his master, his voice matched Kanan's when he spoke.

"What did this man look like? I felt a really powerful signature near you. It was being blocked so I couldn't tell if it was a dark or light force user. That's why I came to find you." As he spoke, Kanan was fingering the amulet gently, brushing the tarnish off unconsciously.

"Well, he was old. I'm pretty sure he was a human but he was under a heavy cloak. His voice was very soft toned. His eyes were a greyish blue color. He had an almost white beard." He watched as his master grabbed his holo net and dug up a picture showing it to Ezra.

"Yeah! That's him! Who is he?" Kanan looked at his student in disbelief.

"Ezra, that was Master Obi Wan Kenobi of the high council." The older Jedi was full of questions now.

Why didn't Master Kenobi take Ezra to train him? He knew Kanan hadn't finished his training and was still a padawan when Order 66 happened.

" _Does he approve of my training a student? Or did he not know it was me? No, he had to know it was me. Just like he knew Ezra was force sensitive. Why else would he give him the pendant?"_ The Jedi was in shock at this realization, now guilt was hitting him hard for how he had treated his student.

"So that guy is one of the guys that helped train you? Cool, that means you're not the last Jedi then right? Why don't they help us?" Ezra was getting excited; surely more Jedi meant that they could defeat the empire quicker.

"Whoa whoa, slow down; it's not that easy Kid. Master Kenobi gave us a direct order to go into hiding, he was the one speaking on the holocron I gave you. What I'm doing is rogue behavior, but apparently it's being allowed." Kanan moved his arms in a manner to try and calm his student down as he stood up and gently put the box in his compartment of safe keeping.

"Oh…" Ezra sounded disheartened and looked down at the floor.

"Don't worry, I'm sure sooner or later the Jedi will come back. Our destiny is uncertain right now. Until then, I will train you the best I can." Kanan offered the kid a small smile to try and ease his mind.

Ezra nodded mutely before he stood up.

"I'm going back to my room now. Good night." He started to walk to the door but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"You can't go back right now." Kanan gently turned him around.

"Why?" Ezra didn't look at him. He was upset that his gift had seemed to just caused a world of hurt to his master. Maybe he deserved to have been slammed up against the wall.

"Well, first of all. You can't leave without me thanking you for my gift. It brings back a lot of memories that I will need to face soon or later. When I'm ready to talk about it, I will come to you I promise." Kanan removed his hand as he continued. While he spoke the Jedi rummaged on the top bunk.

"Second, I have a gift for you. And Lastly, unless you want Hera to see the blood on your shirt we need to get your wound fixed. I guess when you hit the wall you popped a stich. I'm really sorry..." Ezra heard the guilt in his voice. It would be a while before Kanan would be able to forgive himself.

"You're uh, welcome and don't worry about it. I still trust you and I know it won't happen again. You don't have to give me anything Kanan. You training me is good enough." Ezra looked up to see that Kanan had two bundles that were wrapped.

"I get two?" Ezra smiled and took them sitting on the bed to unwrap them. Kanan watched him with the same small smile from earlier.

The first gift was a new set of heavy clothes and a cloak for cold weather. They were the same color as Ezra's every day where which made the teenager happy.

"In case we have to go to a cold planet again. I don't need my only padawan to freeze to death." Kanan was nervous Ezra wasn't going to like the gifts he had picked out.

"Thanks! I love them, they're cool and you even got my favorite color" The padawan's voice help much excitement as he opened the second package. Ezra looked at the contents with curiosity.

"I found them at the market. It's how initiates trained at the temple. They're different training aids. Not all of them are here, but they will help. Much better than having chopper throw things at you while you balance on a moving ship. The vendor thought it was junk because he didn't know what they were. They have to be activated using the force."

Ezra smiled before he turned and hugged Kanan tightly.

"Thank you Kanan. They're perfect." Kanan hesitated, still not quite used to the whole showing of affection idea. He gently hugged Ezra back before releasing him.

"Let's get your shoulder taken care of." Kanan walked over and grabbed his own personal medical kit before he started to take care of Ezra's shoulder giving him a change of clothing so Hera wouldn't see.

After thanking Kanan one last time, he left for his room with his new belongings that he would cherish forever.

Kanan shut the door and sighed. There was a deep sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. How could Ezra be so forgiving at what he had done. The man walked over and picked up the box with the pendant looking over the piece of jewelry.

" _Are you proud of what I have become Master? I've stopped running finally."_ Once again, the older male shut the box and put it away for safe keeping. He sat down on his chair to meditate; he needed to balance out his emotions and reflect on everything that had happened.

No matter how hard he tried, the Jedi was unable to bring himself into a meditative state. He sighed deeply before standing to go find one of the few people he could confide in to help work out his problems. He left his room to find Hera.

 **** Another chapter finished. Didn't think I could get this one done. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it and it didn't turn out too lame. I've hit a pretty nasty writers block. Sleep and rest should heal the problem lol. I have a few more chapters with this story before I conclude it.** ~Ocean**


	16. Chapter 16: Under the Mistletoe

**Chapter 16: Under the Mistletoe**

Kana found Hera in the cargo hold of her ship. The Twi-lek was cleaning up the Christmas decorations in preparation for the next day.

Most of the decorations had already been taken down. She was currently over by the ramp looking up at the mistletoe trying to figure out how it got up there. Sabine explained to her what it was, the Mandalorian girl having no intentions of putting it up. So how did it… _"Zeb and Chopper!"_ The pilot recalled, not too long ago, when Sabine was chasing the two.

"Hera?" Hera immediately looked up. Their leader sounded almost, sad. Kanan looked disturbed and upset by something.

"What's wrong Kanan?" She quickly filled the distance between them looking him over to make sure nothing was physically wrong with him.

The Jedi hesitated before explaining what had happened.

"I don't know why I did it. I feel horrible and don't know what to do about it. I know Ezra has changed and he's not a thief, well not to anyone but the Empire at least. I figure maybe you could help; after all, you're good with this kind of thing. Maybe you can talk to him?" Kanan's green eyes were almost pleading with Hera to make him feel better about what happened.

"I'm glad you feel so bad." Hera started watching Kanan's eyes widen slightly before she continued in her normal voice.

"It means you have a heart. And I know that you have a very large heart. Time and communication with your padawan are the only things that are going to help you feel better. That and maybe helping me get all these decorations up and in storage." She walked back over to where her box was by the ramp. She tried to pick it up but something stuck her and she dropped it instinctively and hissed in pain looking at her finger as a small drop of blood started to leak out.

Kanan saw this and came over.

"What happened?" He asked concerned seeing the bit of blood.

"Kanan!" The Jedi stepped back a little from the sudden outburst from the Twi-lek.

"You idiot…" She lowered the tone of her voice. Kanan was unaware that when he stepped over, the two of them were under the mistletoe. Both of them completely naïve to the fact that Sabine might have told a white lie to Hera about consequences of not kissing under the mistletoe.

"Kiss me." She stated with an urgent but commanding tone. This really threw the Jedi for a loop and he took another step back.

"What? Hera, what has gotten into you? First you yell at me for coming over and now you are ordering me to kiss you?" Kanan's voice had gotten a pitch or two higher than his normal voice. When he spoke it also cracked slightly. He found Hera very attractive from the start but the pilot had made it very clear that as long as there was a war going on, she didn't want to be in a relationship because it was a distraction. Hera pointed to the little plant dangling from the ceiling. Kanan followed her finger and looked up at it.

"What's that?" He heard Hera sigh as he asked curiously.

"It's mistletoe. It's another tradition of Christmas, but a very strange one. Sabine said that if two people stand under it together they have to kiss. If they don't there will be bad luck cursed upon them for a year." She looked down. Normally Hera wasn't superstitious like this, but right now she needed to take all cautions to keep her crew safe.

"Sorry about yelling at you. I guess it's pretty stupid." She was about to say something else when Kanan leaned down and gently planted a kiss, more like a tiny peck, on her nose.

"There. No bad luck for either of us." The human had been very gentle and his voice was soft. Hera got a little lost in his touch but quickly came back to reality when he moved and picked up the box that had stuck her.

"Now, where do you want this to go?" Kanan stayed very professional about all of it, like what he did was an everyday save a life type thing. Deep down, he had just caused more inner confusion; one emotion that he would get over much more quickly than the guilt he currently harbored.

"Hm? Um. Oh. Over there. With the others. I'll have Zeb and Chopper move them to storage later." Before another person became a victim she got a ladder and grabbed the mistletoe tossing it in the trash.

The two continued to talk while they cleaned.

"So you're saying that I need to talk to Ezra about how I feel and that will make everything better?" Kanan went back to his source of turmoil.

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Only Ezra can forgive you if he hasn't already and only Ezra can help you not feel as guilty." The female grabbed the last decoration putting it in the box.

"There. That is the last of it. I think we should do this every year, that was pretty fun and it took everyone's mind off fighting for our lives. I think I'm going to shower and head to bed. You should do the same." Once again, Hera gave Kanan a reassuring smile before she hugged him in a comforting way.

"Everything will turn out fine. Just talk to him." She pulled away and headed towards her room. "Good night Kanan."

"Night Hera." Kanan watched as she disappeared. The Jedi stayed in the cargo hold for a few more minutes before climbing up the ladder and heading for his room. He had long forgotten the kiss due to his current situation. There were two pairs of eyes watching everything that just happened and wouldn't allow that small moment to be forgotten for a long time.

 ****Sorry for dragging this out guys. Wanted to make sure it was completed before Xmas was over but not too early and of course I feel like I have to update daily because if not I'll drive myself crazy. The Conclusion will be tomorrow (Xmas Eve) evening and it will most likely have a little bit of a choose your own ending depending on how creative I feel. I've gotten a lot of PMs from readers to have certain endings so as an xmas gift I may just do all of them and let you choose which one you want to read. Let me know if you see any errors because of the program I'm using right now. I've caught most of the errors but there is bound to be more! PS: Starting to work on the 2** **nd** **Trilogy to my first story! Hoping to have a chapter up in the next day or two or three** **Hope you enjoyed!* ~Ocean**


	17. Chapter 17: Silent Night

**Chapter 16: Silent Night**

"He really did that? Doesn't that mean he's gone to the dark side or something?" Sabine asked as she stood up from their hiding place of watching "the parents".

Originally Sabine was going to come help Hera, ended up running into Ezra who was leaving his room. The two of them came in seeing the older crew members' predicament and hid. They had to hold back laughter watching the two.

"No, I'm pretty sure he's the same Kanan. I don't know what happened to cause him to be that way. Just memories and past trauma? The younger teen said quietly as he stood as well. He was definitely hurt about Kanan thinking that he had stolen the pendant and for slamming him against the wall, but Ezra was trying to keep those feelings hidden though.

"Maybe. I guess it's time for bed then since they already took down all the decorations. I'll get Chopper cleaned up tomorrow." Sabine begin to climb the ladder. Ezra looked up at her.

"So, about that kiss." He had an adorable smile plastered to his face. The face that he had before he started to flirt. The older teen didn't have to look; she could hear it in his voice.

"Don't even start it Kid, not happening." This was the only response Ezra got before she disappeared into her room for the night. Ezra sighed and retreated to his room once again.

The young Jedi climbed up the ladder ignoring his snoring roommate and flopped onto his bed. Just as he was starting to drift he heard the sound of the door sliding open.

"Hey kid?" The all too familiar voice of his master whispered. Ezra was trying to decide if he wanted to ignore him. He was actually really tired by this point, so much had happened in the last 48 hours.

"Ezra, I know you're awake." Kanan changed his tactic back to his normal tone before he walked over and leaned up to Ezra's bunk. The kid rolled over facing his master.

"Yeah?" Ezra said unamused. He didn't mean for it to come out how it did, but if Kanan was going to lecture him or tell him to meditate this late at night, there was going to be a problem.

The Jedi mentally flinched hearing Ezra's voice. Was Ezra really that mad at him?

"Sorry, I needed to talk to you." Kanan kept his voice barely above a whisper because of the sleeping Lesat below.

"Can't it wait until tomorrow, I'm tired." Ezra rolled back over. He still didn't know how upset with Kanan he was. The plan was to sleep and reevaluate how he felt in the morning.

"No. Please?" Kanan pleaded, something he rarely did. Ezra took note of this and sighed. The teenage male started to get up, climbing down the stairs and following his master back to his room, yawning a few times in the process.

"What do you need to talk to me about?" Sleep was really starting to try and hit him. He hoped Kanan was going to hurry.

The Jedi walked to his nightstand grabbing the pendant and walking back holding it up for Ezra to see.

"I need to know how I can make it up to you for treating you how I did. This is the best gift I could have received and I feel like I ruined the purpose of it. The pendant of my master symbolizes strength and peace. I tainted my master's name by acting how I did. I need to fix what happened." Kanan spoke slowly, trying to figure out the right words he wanted to say.

"It's fine Kanan. You were just upset because of the memories." Ezra tried to shrug it off, but Kanan knew him better.

"That is an excuse that I will not allow myself to have. I need to make this right; the guilt is eating me alive." Ezra could feel that it was causing a lot of mixed emotions with his master.

" _It really is affecting him…."_ Ezra thought to himself staring at the necklace in front of him trying to figure out what to say to the older Jedi.

"Kanan, I can't be mad at you, at least not for long. I'm just upset because you didn't trust me and jumped to conclusions. But so how am I supposed to judge you when I would have probably done the same?" The teenager hesitated before he hugged his master in a warm hug causing Kanan to tense in surprise before returning it. The older man could feel the warmth and love that Ezra had; there was no hostility or anger. This calmed and soothed Kanan's own mind.

"I get mad when I think about the past sometimes. I miss my parents and know what you went through. Your master was your family and you lost her. That's not an excuse, it's a fact. Somehow we've become a family, and family forgives each other. I forgive you Kanan. I know you won't do it again." Ezra spoke like he was years older; not some kid they picked up off the streets. Kanan was very proud of him.

"Thank you Ezra" Kanan released from the hug stepping back to look at his student.

"So you don't have any hard feelings at all about what I did?" Ezra looked up to see his master chewing his lip. The padawan felt that it was rare to see the man this vulnerable.

"Nope, any feelings I will let go of while I sleep. Sleeping is my meditation." Ezra grinned up at his master who gave him a small smile back. Kanan felt much better and was glad he had spoken with Hera.

"Alright, I get it, you can go back to sleep Kid." The older male reached over and ruffled Ezra hair, still holding the pendant with his other hand.

Ezra smiled and allowed it for a few seconds before he backed away and turned to go back to sleep.

"Thanks Ezra, Merry Christmas." Ezra stopped to hear this as the door opened.

"Merry Christmas Kanan." The youth left the room and went back to his room assuming the position of sleep. He smiled as he shut his eyes. This was still the best Christmas ever.

Kanan had gotten ready for bed before laying down looking up at top of the other bunk through the darkness. He felt lucky to have such a wonderful padawan. Ezra was going to make a great Jedi when he was older.

The Jedi dangled the necklace and watched as it swung gently back and forth smiling gently at it. He started to remember all the few precious memories he had with his master as he began to drift.

He hoped their family had many more Christmas days ahead of them. His last memory was staring at Hera and giving her a peck on the nose before he fell into a peaceful slumber.

Hera came to check on him sometime a few moments later to make sure he was okay. It was a picture perfect moment. Kanan was fast asleep on his back with the pendant clutched close to his chest. She didn't know where it had come from but she knew it held value to her friend. The Jedi had a small smile on his face while he slept, something that was hardly ever seen.

" _Maybe if we make it through this war Kanan."_ Hera smiled as she thought to herself. She shut the door and left leaving the Jedi to sleep.

Within ten more minutes, not a creature was stirring as the _Ghost_ crew sleep peacefully that rare silent night.

 ****Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates Christmas :). If I could I would send one of my famous Goodie Boxes to my top fans that follow and comment on all my stories. I guess it will have to be virtual! Hope you guys enjoyed this story. Working on my sequel now and waiting for the rest of the household to wake. Thanks!** ~Ocea** n


	18. Sequel Information

**** Hey guys! Since there seems to be a misunderstanding. When I say working on sequel, I meant for Separation and Second Chances. The order:**

 **~Separation and Second Chances**

 **~Trusted But Trapped**

 **~Dark Side**

 **If you want me to do a sequel to this fic though please review and let me know and I'm sure I can think of something** **Sorry for the confusion everyone! Love you guys!** ~Ocean**


	19. Prequel To Sequel (AKA Teaser)

**** Okay, here's the teaser "trailer" to the sequel that everyone seems to want. I will be dedicating this new story to a certain follower that will be disclosed soon enough :) Let me know what you think?** ~Ocean**

 **Prequel to Sequel**

As usual, Kanan and Hera were both up earlier than the others. The two were looking for a safe location that the whole fleet could consider their base. They discussed the options, taking out areas that wouldn't work and leaving the potentials on a list. Both adults were fully rested after their small Christmas holiday and ready for anything.

Ezra turned over in his sleep on to his back as he began to dream. The dream was vivid, he heard his parents calling to him and a white Loth cat appearing causing images to flash in his mind. The cat took off and as Ezra tried to go after it he started to fall. The youth woke up with a jolt as he fell off his bed and hit the floor. His roommate behind him continued snoring, completely undisturbed.

"No, no we've checked these systems. There's nothing close to a viable location for a base." Hera stated with mild frustration. She was standing looking at the projection in front of her and the Jedi. Her arms were crossed.

"Maybe you're just bein picky." The older male stated with the same frustration. They locked eyes in a small match of wills.

"Maybe I have to be." Hera continued. Kanan was about to retort back when he heard his padawan yell his name.

"Kanan!..Kanan!" The youth yelled as he entered the room stopping before the two. The adults looked up with a mixture of concern and curiosity at what would have Ezra up this early.

"What is it?" Kanan asked watching Ezra, feeling his mixed emotions flooding the force waves between them.

"My Parents…Kanan…I saw my parents!" The young teenager said with wide eyes.

* * *

Kanan broke out of his meditative state. He kept replaying this memory over and over again. The older man looked over at the sleeping form on his bed. The last few nights he had allowed Ezra to sleep in his quarters because of the nightmares that had plagued his student since he had learned of his parents' deaths.

The Jedi hadn't spent much time sleeping the past few days, just meditating. There was too much to filter through his mind. With no hope for Ezra to be reunited with his family again, the boy was lost and still trying to find his way again.

Kanan got up and left his room heading to make a cup a caf for himself. As he sat down a vision hit him and he shut his eyes, fully concentrating on it as the images flashed through his mind.

 _A base with alarms flashing, the two being cornered, Ezra getting shot falling down to the ground in the middle of the battle and Ezra saying goodbye before turning and walking away, disappearing into the air._

Kanan opened his eyes wide before letting them fall normally. It took a moment to slow his breathing from the slight fear that had risen at seeing his student lying on the ground bleeding. He sat at the table in silence and tried to make sense of the vision he just had.


End file.
